Sonic Adventure: Downfall and Redemption
by ThePhantomHedgehog
Summary: 6 months after Infinite's defeat, a new adventure begins and a new member joins the team. But as he becomes closer friends with everyone, long-forgotten enemies return, and the team begins to question their new friend's history. Secrets will unravel, relationships will be strained, and trust will become betrayal. Things will never be the same. ARCHIVED; REBOOT & PREQUEL IN PROGRESS
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**IMPORTANT: This is the only A/N in the story that will be long. Please read it through. Also, this chapter is a PROLOGUE. The real story begins in Chapter 2, but this chapter is the set up to the rest of the story. If you don't care about the A/N, then don't read it. Don't blame me if you're confused about something in the story later on.**

 **A/N:**

 **List of Character Ages as of the end of Sonic Forces and Voice Actors I prefer for the story:**

 ***Note: this is not a complete list of characters to be featured in the story, there will be others, but why spoil the fun, right? Also, you don't have to use these voice actors, but I think that should be self-evident.**

 **Sonic the Hedgehog – 20 Jason Griffith (Present Sonic)**

 **Jaleel White (Young Sonic)**

 **Miles "Tails" Prower – 13 Amy Palant (Unleashed)**

 **Knuckles the Echidna – 21 Scott Dreier (Adventure 2)**

 **Amy Rose – 17 Lisa Ortiz (Unleashed)**

 **Shadow the Hedgehog – 20 (70) Kirk Thornton (Forces)**

 **Rouge the Bat – 21 Lani Minella (Adventure 2)**

 **E-123 Omega – NA (Robot, duh) Vic Mignogna (Forces)**

 **Silver the Hedgehog – 19 Quinton Flynn (Forces)**

 **Blaze the Cat – 19 Bella Hudson (Sonic 06)**

 **Cream the Rabbit – 11 Rebecca Honig**

 **Vector the Crocodile – 25 Keith Silverstein (Sonic Forces)**

 **Espio the Chameleon – 21 Mathew Mercer (Forces)**

 **Charmy the Bee – 11 Colleen O'Shaughnessey (Forces)**

 **Mighty the Armadillo – 24 Your guess is as good as mine.**

 **Ray the Flying Squirrel – 18 (Guess) Your guess is as good as mine.**

 **Jet the Hawk – 19 Jason Griffith (Riders)**

 **Wave the Swallow – 23 Bella Hudson (Riders)**

 **Storm the Albatross – 24 Dan Green (Riders)**

 **Dr. Eggman (Ivo Robotnik) – ? Mike Pollock (since 2005)**

 **Sally Acorn – 20 Kath Soucie (SatAM)**

 **Sonia the Hedgehog – 20  
**

 **Manic the Hedgehog – 20  
**

 **Nack "Fang the Sniper" the Weasel – Preferably dead**

 **Sonic: Woooow…**

 **Tails: That's a bit harsh, don't you think?**

 **Knuckles: Heh, yeah, emphasis on "a bit".**

 **Me: I'm sorry, do you remember the Triple Trouble Incident?**

 **Team Sonic: Uhhh…**

 **Me: Exactly. Don't worry you'll find out why I hate him in Chapter 2… assuming I write it. I'm not sure yet as I am writing/typing this on a word doc.**

 **Sonic: But… this is the first chapter.**

 **Me: Yes. Congratulations, you win a sticker, I guess.**

 **Tails: Which means this isn't Chapter 2.**

 **Me: Riiiiight…**

 **Knuckles: Which means you'll never publish it because this is your first fanfic and you have no idea why or what the hell you're doing.**

 **Me: Pretty much sums it all up, yeah.**

 **Tails: So why bother?**

 **Me: BECAUSE I'M BORED OUTTA MY MIND AND I'VE HAD THIS ITCH TO WRITE ONE AFTER READING SO MANY ****ING FANFICS, THAT'S WHY!**

 ***Awkward silence***

 **Tails (meekly): Sorry I asked.**

 **Me: *sigh* Let's just start this piece of shit that no one will ever read.**

 **Disclaimer: All rights to characters, music, and whatnot belong to their respective owners. I only own my OCs.**

 ***Additional and sincere A/N***

 **This is my first fanfic I'm writing. But, before we begin,** **I need to talk about is the timeline. I don't wanna go into too much detail, but it's important that you guys know the history, so here's the gist of it:**

 **I apologize ahead of time, but please bear with me, this is the only A/N that will be this ridiculously long…**

 **The story takes place on Earth. Yeah, shocking I know. The planet is inhabited by both Mobians, the anthropomorphic creatures that we all know and love (most of them), and by humans. Remember the locations filled with humans from Sonic Adventure 1 and 2 and Sonic Unleashed? Imagine that but also includes Mobians as well. There's a region/continent on Earth called Mobius; which includes many familiar locations, including the Mystic Ruins, South Island, Mobotropolis, Knothole, just to rattle a few off.**

 **The events of The Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic (SatAM), and Underground occurred concurrently, with modifications, when Sonic was 10 years old. I know, in SatAM, Sonic is supposed to be 16, but this is my story and I'm trying to make it as consistent as possible with the games. Also, assume Knuckles was never in Underground and the instruments were only used for music and not as weapons. After the events of "The Doomsday Project", where Julian Robotnik was killed, his nephew, Dr. Ivo "Snively" Robotnik, (yes, that's how I'm writing this story) hid somewhere on Mobius for many months. There is no Naugus. During those months, Sonic and Sally decided to end their relationship, on good terms, and remain good friends. At the same time, Ivo's appearance began to change. By Sonic 1, he appeared as he did in said game. A month before the events of Sonic 1, Sonic and Tails received word that trouble might be brewing in the South Island region. While the rest of the Freedom Fighters wanted to help, Sonic explained that they were needed to help continue rebuilding the kingdom and to help support Sally when she rules in the near future.**

 ***Deep breath***

 **6 months after the "Doomsday Project", the events of Sonic 1, 2, CD, SegaSonic, 3 &K, Triple Trouble, Knuckles' Chaotix, and Mania occurred. By the end of Mania, Sonic is 11. The only event from Mania that actually occurred was Sonic saving Mighty and Ray from that capsule. The actual Mania and Mania: Plus stories happened in Classic Sonic's timeline.**

 **After that, the events of Sonic 4 (all episodes) occurred and by the end Sonic is 13. In Sonic Adventure, he's 13. Adventure 2, he's 14. Sonic 06, he's 16. Unleashed, he's 18. He turned 19 in Generations (his birthday, duh). Sonic is 20, as of the end of Sonic Forces.**

 **Sonic 06 did occur, the events were erased when Solaris was extinguished. Blaze was sent to the other dimension when she sealed Iblis. Blaze was NOT born in Sonic's world. She was born in her world (the other dimension). She, for whatever reason, came to Sonic's world in the future, met Silver, and the events of Sonic 06 occurred, Iblis was sealed away, blah, blah, blah. When she returned to her world, she resumed her duties as a princess and guardian of the Sol Emeralds. When the timeline altered, Silver and Blaze never met in the future. Why, I don't know. Like everyone else, Blaze does not remember the events of Sonic 06, but they all have faint remnant memories of it. Silver does remember everything, as does one other person.  
**

 **The events of Sonic Rush and Rush Adventure happened AFTER 06. Blaze never actually met Sonic in 06, mind you.**

 **The events of Sonic: Dark Chronicles did happen but are irrelevant.**

 **No Sonic X or Sonic Boom universe implementation here as of now. Maybe Cosmo in the future, I dunno yet.  
**

 **I mostly based Sonic's age from the games off of DeviantArt's The4thSnake's timeline, with my own tweaks for the story.  
**

 ***Thud* God I'm tired. Holy crap, this whole freakin' A/N together is a one-shot story… and now I have a headache.**

 **The story will have YouTube video titles for songs and music. Just search the title on YouTube in another tab or window, start the video at the time code indicated, follow the instructions, if any, and continue reading while listening to them. Make sure you continue reading as soon as the video starts in order to stay in sync with the story, as best as I have tried for it to be synced. It's to help put more emotion into the story. You don't have to do this. I wish I could have hyperlinks, but I can't. so I make do.  
**

 **(Updated 11/9/18: Made a few corrections in the A/N. Also, there were a lot of spelling typos for some reason that are not found on the original document.)**

 **(Updated 1/5/19): Decided to revise the first paragraph of the A/N. If you have read the original, then I will now state that this fanfic WILL BE COMPLETED. I will continue doing grammatical revisions some time in the future.**

 **(Updated 1/14/19): Revised Ray's age. Removed Sonia and Manic's voice actor of Jaleel White. Intentionally meant for young Sonia and young Manic only, but decided to add them to the story later. Also added important note at the beginning. Some minor grammar fixes. More to come.**

 **Ok… there…. *gasp* finished… *Deep breaths* Okay, I promise that I won't make a ridiculously long A/N like this again… I hope.**

 **Well here it is, my first fanfic. Better hold on to your butts, 'cause this is gonna be quite a ride. I hope you enjoy it! I proudly… well for now anyways… I proudly present:**

 **Sonic Adventure: Downfall and Redemption**

 **~ ThePhantomHedgehog**

* * *

" _Sometimes the most dangerous enemy is the one you least expect._ _Sometimes the most hated person is the one you must have faith in. Sometimes the one who is least loved loves the most."_

I'm sure many of you can relate to some part of that passage. If not, then I'm sure you will at some point in your life. Life can be quite strange at times, wouldn't you agree? Whether it's good or bad, right or wrong, just or unfair, life is life. It's full of mystery and discovery. But it's also full of darkness and despair.

But you didn't come here just to talk about philosophy, now did you? Of course not. You came for answers, answers for questions you all have been wanting to ask me for long time. But before you start asking, I wish for you to listen to a story I wish to tell.

Now, now. Let's not get ahead of ourselves here, this story isn't just any story. It contains the answers you wish to know. I can't promise I'll give you all the answers today, especially if I don't know the questions at all. But I promise, in time, that I will tell you everything. So, that's my offer. Take it or leave it.

So, that's a 'yes', then? Very well. Fair warning, I prefer not to be interrupted unless it's necessary. Come on, don't be so formal, please, sit down. The couch doesn't have much room, but there's plenty of space on the carpet. Before we begin, anyone want hot cocoa or coffee? Some cheesecake bites? Alright then, everyone ready? Now, where to start the story? Well, I guess I'll start where it all began, over 10 years ago…

* * *

Chapter 1: Prologue

~~~ 10 Years Ago ~~~

 _*** 6 months before the Doomsday Project ***_

 _Deep underneath Robotropolis, in a vast refinery and steel works_

"Huhhh…" a young hedgehog sighed as he wiped the sweat off his face. "Just another day of this mindless turmoil."

The air around him was thick with pollutants and it was so hot and dry, it put Sandopolis Zone to shame. Taking a pause to catch his breath, the hedgehog looked around to make sure no SWAT-bots were around. Certain he was alone; the hedgehog took this as an opportunity to take a quick break and have a minute-long little walk. He turned his body around on the rusty metal stool he was sitting in for hours and stretched out his aching legs. He got off the stool and got onto his feet. If it weren't for the wrappings on his feet, he would have certainly stepped on one of the hundreds of rusty nails and broken glass shards scattered everywhere on the ground and potentially hurt himself.

[ **Reconstructing Science Remix (Futuristic Orchestra) 10 hours** ] (Uploaded by 10hourclips) (0:00)

He took a moment to take in his surroundings, not that there really was much for him to take in. All around him, there were machinations and roboticized slaves at work. Sparks were flying; machines were moving components from one place to another; large crucibles were rolling along overhead tracks, carrying molten metal that bubbled over, causing small droplets of the hot stuff to fly in several directions. Quick reflexes and high-alert instincts have helped to keep the youngster from getting harmed on more than one occasion.

"Doesn't old Buttnik know anything about safety precau- oh, right. To him, everything that harms others is safe."

He stretched out his arms, giving his upper body much needed relief from the aches of the day's hard work. Actually, of the whole time he's been stuck here.

If one were to see the youngster now, they would believe they saw a mummy straight from an ancient pharaoh's tomb, albeit in the form of a hedgehog. The reason for the wrappings weren't due to the lack of shoes. He was wearing shoes, gloves, and around his neck a pair of improvised goggles, which were clearly a couple sizes too big. The reason was because the soles of his shoes have been diminished to nearly nothing, barely able to hold his shoes together if not for the wrappings. His gloves, too, had wrappings around them as well, fingers included. He did this so his hands wouldn't become so callous from all the harsh work. But it wasn't just his extremities…

No, he had almost everything covered: legs, arms, torso, and everything above his eyes, save for the ears. Underneath it all was a very damaged body of a 10-year-old hedgehog, the result of the cruel and immoral acts done to him by the evil scientist and dictator, Dr. Julien Robotnik.

He began his walk and not even taking his ninth step, the hedgehog was instantly choked by a cold tight piece of metal on his neck and instantly landed on his back. Save for the air forced out of him from the fall, he was not injured.

"What the hell?" he questioned as he rubbed his sore neck and repositioned the metal collar into a more comfortable, for a lack of better term, position.

"One, two, three…"

He was counting the number of links that connected the collar to the nearby cell, where he "lived".

Yes, this youngster was a slave. Not a mindless roboticized citizen of Mobius that followed Robotnik's bidding, but a young, living, depressed hedgehog, forced to do the bidding of another with no beneficial outcomes, other than to live another day.

"Seriously? He removed 10 more links? Can a guy get any breaks around here? Let alone a decent meal?"

On cue, a SWAT-bot came out of a nearby elevator, bringing what one would consider as a sick joke of some sort. To the hedgehog, it was… a meal. The hedgehog's deep blue eyes followed the SWAT-bot as it walked towards his workstation.

"Your nutritional meal," the SWAT-bot stated in a monotone voice as it dropped the polluted meal down on the work table.

The meal consisted of polluted, and possibly radiated, water and what appears to be two-month-old moldy bread. The hedgehog stared at the food, his mouth watered, and he immediately went forward and devoured the entire thing without-

OK, that didn't really happen. In fact, he has never eaten anything given to him by the SWAT-bots. If he had been eating this crap for the past six months, he would have been long dead. Probably as far back as day one.

Since Robotnik's rise to power, fresh water and food around Robotropolis were as rare as the hedgehog seeing daylight. In other words, never. To get by, whenever he was "summoned" to Robotnik's throne room, he would snag one of the dictator's personal supply of food. Usually a piece of fruit or a candy bar. Too bad today wasn't that day.

The hedgehog walked over to the slop of what was most likely something you'd find on a menu in the bowels of a sewer populated by the homeless with next to nothing in their possession in terms of food or water.

"What… in the hell… is this crap?" the hedgehog asked, giving the SWAT-bot a questionable look.

"Your nutrition-"

"Nutrition my ass," the annoyed hedgehog interrupted, "I specifically asked for a double cheeseburger with a layer of fries and barbecue sauce. Where's the meat and potatoes? I want food, not something that can only be found at the bottom of Buttnik's toilet bowl."

"This is what I was ordered to give you! And you will address King Robotnik by his proper title!" the SWAT-bot remarked.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I meant Lord Buttnik. And he gave you orders to bring me any meal I specifically ask for."

The SWAT-bot came closer to the annoying hedgehog.

"His name is Robotnik."

"Buttnik."

"Robotnik."

"Buttnik."

"Robotnik."

"Buttstink?"

The SWAT-bot was now inches away from the wisecracking slave.

"For the final time, it's BUTTNIK!" the SWAT-bot bellowed.

 ***Record scratch* (Stop the music)**

The hedgehog tried to hold back his laughter. To say he failed would be a universal understatement. And the arguing continued for another minute.

Normally at this time, a SWAT-bot would have beaten some sense into the smart-mouthing hedgehog. However, this young hedgehog was like another we know; willing to put up a fight. And after the hedgehog had pulverized the fifth SWAT-bot with his bare hands, as far as Robotnik knew, the SWAT-bots were given new orders to leave upon confrontation with said hedgehog.

Clearly, this SWAT-bot had a few bugs in the system. Or one might describe it as an idiot.

"No, no… you were ordered to give me what I want for a meal. Now go back and get me some real food," the hedgehog ordered.

A couple of seconds of staring later, the SWAT-bot turned away and marched towards the elevator.

"New orders: bring prisoner updated meal," the SWAT-bot stated as the elevator doors closed behind it.

"What an idiot," the hedgehog smirked.

"Ain't that the truth!" a voice from behind cried out.

[ **Twinkle Cart ...for Twinkle Park - Sonic Adventure Music Extended** ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

The hedgehog turned to see his friend and partner in hell, James "Snickers" the Mouse. Technically he was most likely a rat, but he claims otherwise. Snickers was a 9-year-old rodent with purple fur, covered in dust and… who knows what with the plumbing to the showers, with dark, beady green eyes and a dark pink nose.

Snickers and the hedgehog met four months ago. Up until two months ago, the hedgehog used to work in a different section of Robotropolis. While still underground, it had safer working conditions, if you could call any place in Robotropolis "safe", but he was glad to be away from the place. He would rather continue working without food in the foundry than go back to that place. The only place the hedgehog felt was more painful to work in than the foundry was the roboticizer sector.

For the first eight months of his "loving" work for the malicious dictator, the hedgehog was forced to watch as countless Mobians and Freedom Fighters were roboticized. Day by day, while the machine sucked out the souls and free will of its victims, the hedgehog felt his own soul being taken apart piece by piece. It wouldn't be until a couple of months later that the hedgehog would learn that there was hope for the roboticide slaves. Of course, as with any job opening, when one worker leaves, another must take its place. And lo and behold, Snickers was the lucky winner. The hedgehog could only hope that his purple friend was strong enough to get through the heinous job.

Snickers had slightly larger hands than a normal rodent would, mainly because his hands were callous, and wore black leather gloves. His tail was 6 inches long and ended with a stub covered in bandages. A certain fat ass thought it would be funny to feed his tail to a chop machine. Surprisingly, the fat ass did find it funny. Not surprisingly, Snickers didn't. The hedgehog saw the event, since it just so happened to occur in the room next door. When Robotnik left, leaving the harmed mouse crying in the room alone, the hedgehog snuck away from his station to help. The first thing the hedgehog did was offer the purple mouse half his candy bar. No, that wasn't how he earned his nickname, he earned that from being a prankster and joker. That's how they became friends. And since then, the two always did their best to have each other's back.

"I was wondering when you were gonna show up, Snickers!"

"Sorry, had to find new bandages for my legs." The purple mouse explained as he walked over to me. His legs, while that of a normal mouse, somehow managed to keep his entire body up. Not that Snickers was overweight or anything. In fact, if he was, the hedgehog would probably question how much food he really gets and then force the information out of him. It was mostly due to the fact that Robotnik and his crony SWAT-bots would punish him by slicing deep gashes into his thighs.

As he got closer, the hedgehog noticed the "bag of tricks", as he liked to call it, the purple mouse had over his shoulder.

"How are the legs?" the concerned hedgehog asked.

Snickers looked at his friend and gave him a hopeful smiled as he answered, "Still standing."

His face then warped into one of concern.

"How are you feeling, buddy? You look like you could drop any second and fall into a coma," the purple rodent stated.

He was right. The hedgehog gave his pal the "I'll be fine, don't worry yourself" look, but they both knew the truth. The hedgehog's sleep schedule was nearly nonexistent. If it wasn't the harsh conditions or the impossible tasks at hand, it was the nightmares that kept the poor young hedgehog up.

They remained silent for a few seconds before Snickers broke it.

"So, is it ready, 'Wisps'?" Snickers asked.

'Wisps' was a nickname Snickers called his hedgehog friend. Unlike the alien Wisps that we know of today, the hedgehog was called Wisps for the bandages. Sometimes, if a couple of bandages were cut, Wisps would looked very similar to a phantom.

 ***cough cough***

Now 'Wisps' was smiling. Being a bit of an engineer, he was always glad to show new tools and gizmos to his friend.

"Been ready."

"How long?"

"Past two hours."

"Dammit, I should have arrived sooner."

"To be fair… I wasn't sure if any SWAT-bots were gonna show up, let alone you. Good thing you both showed up at the perfect time."

The hedgehog motioned over towards the sad excuse for food on the table.

"Well, I managed to snag a couple of chocolate bars. Here, have one." Snickers said as he handed his friend one, knowing how hungry he was.

"Thanks, pal." 'Wisps' told him as he ripped the wrapper open.

He ate the entire bar in one gulp and stuffed the wrapper in between his quills and bandages.

"So, how much time do we have?" Snickers asked.

"Before we die or until Buttnik finds out about my little food order?" the hedgehog joked.

"Isn't that redundant?" Snickers countered.

'Wisps' was silent for five seconds pondering this.

"Yeeeaahh… yeah. Well to answer your previous question, at worst 30 seconds. At best about three hours." 'Wisps' replied.

Snickers whistled.

"What did you order?"

"Double cheese burger, fries, barbecue sauce. The usual cravings I get."

"Wow. That SWAT-bot gives a mindless roboticized slave a run for its money."

"Wouldn't surprise me." 'Wisps' joked. "So, shall we proceed with our little mission for revenge for your tail, my good friend?"

"We shall indeed." Snickers responded.

With that, the hedgehog turned around and reached across his workspace, moved a couple of blueprints aside, and revealed his little side project he spent six months making. It appeared to be some sort of watch-like bracelet, but almost 3 times the width. The hedgehog opened the device by its hinges and placed it on his right wrist.

"Is that the grapple you've been working on?" Snickers asked with interest.

'Wisps' smiled to his friend.

"Yes," he said, "it is indeed. However, this thing is just a prototype, so I wouldn't be surprised if the thing fails on me at the worst time."

"Well, at least I won't be needing it, hopefully." Snickers said.

"Best case, we die a quick death from falling into molten metal." The hedgehog joked. "Worst case, we die a slow painful death at the hands of Lord Buttstink."

"And his trusty sidekick, Sniffley!" Snickers added.

The two friends laughed once more, tears slowly coming down their faces.

"Phew. OK, now that we had a good cry, we have only one last bit a business before we get started." Snickers said, wiping a tear from his eye.

"Yeah…" 'Wisps' said, looking at the annoying, and quite heavy, chain that linked him to his "shelter". "But that never stopped you from getting me out before, pal."

That said, Snickers pulled out his bolt cutters from his bag, and with one cut, the collar fell to the floor.

"Better?" he asked?

The hedgehog playfully punched his friend in arm. As 'Wisps' pulled his goggles on, he responded, "Time to get this show on the road."

 **(Music fades)**

[ **Chemical Plant - Sonic Forces - Music Extended** ] (Uploaded by Crunchii [Music Extensions]) (0:00)

The two partners dashed off into the heart of the foundry. Avoiding the attention of SWAT-bots and roboticized Mobians, the two jumped, slid, and hid among the shadows and machines. Snickers had a distinct advantage of being able to traverse along the pipes and huge gauge wires on the walls and ceilings very quickly, much like how mice and rats do. 'Wisps' was like Sonic, he had the ability to run at abnormal speeds, albeit not as fast the blue blur, and spin dash along the ground, or midair, into enemies. Unfortunately, 'Wisps' would tire after running for long periods of time and, due to the injuries on his quills, spin dashing was very painful for him. Luckily for the duo, their destination was only 20 minutes away from the hedgehog's workstation.

A couple minutes into their trek, 'Wisps' decided to test out his new grapple and he knew the best place to test it before reaching their goal. Up ahead was a U-shaped room that contained a floor completely covered in molten metal. There used to be a bridge from one end of the room to the other, but time and heat took its toll on it and it eventually fell into the pit of boiling metal. Workers used to inspect incoming giant crucibles that would transport the molten material. When the bridge collapsed, inspections ceased as well.

Snickers was slightly ahead of 'Wisps' and reached the room first. While there was no bridge, there was something just as good for him. Along the wall, up high, was a pipeline that transported coolant to other parts of Robotropolis. Using the nearby wires and smaller pipes, he climbed his way up. Once at the top, Snickers dashed across the pipeline. By this time, 'Wisps' had just reached the hallway to the room. His ears perked up as he listened and homed in on the audio cues. He could hear Snickers climbing his way up the wall inside. He could hear the moaning and the creaking of the rust, hot remains of the bridge. He could hear the screeching of the crucible as it entered the room along the metal rail tracks above the pool of molten metal.

" _Yes. Perfect!"_ the young hedgehog thought.

As he got closer to the room, he started to pick up more speed. Meanwhile, Snickers was halfway across the pipeline when he heard the familiar sounds of his speedy friend approaching. He slowed down enough to keep his eye on the entrance, as well as 'Wisps'. He wasn't sure how "Wisps' would be able to navigate through without the bridge. Knowing the dangerous obstacles in the room, Snickers was worried for his friend.

" _What is he up to? It sounds like he's speeding up,"_ the concerned mouse noted. _"Why would he do that, unless… wait. Is he…?"_

Before Snickers could finish his thought, 'Wisps' came storming in. In a matter of just milliseconds, 'Wisps' saw the crucible, wrapped his right arm around his body, and jumped left towards the wall. It seemed as though time had slowed down around Snickers. He knew his friend wasn't able to wall-run certain distances, let alone the length of the U-shaped wall. But just as 'Wisps' started wall-running, he flicked out his right arm towards the top of the crucible. From his bracelet gadget, a grapple hook shot out at lightning speed, the hook springing open from its confined form midair, trailed by a long wire. The grapple sailed towards it target, 'Wisps' was a couple steps along the wall, already drifting downward as gravity started to overcome his wall-running efforts. Snickers held his breath as he watched his hedgehog partner began to fall into the boiling metal lake below.

And then it happened. The hook caught onto the top of the crucible. The wire went taut. And just as he reached the bend, 'Wisps' grabbed ahold of the wire, still connected to his bracelet and continued to wall-run towards his destination. With enough momentum and help from the grapple, 'Wisps' managed to run up and along the wall of the entire room. As he reached the end, he yanked on the wire, sending a signal to the grapple to unhook from its anchor. As the hook came flying back into its confinement, 'Wisps' landed right at the exit of the room, momentum sending him forward a couple feet, until he came skidding to a halt.

Snickers couldn't believe what he saw. Even for the days to come he still couldn't believe it. He saw his friend, practically wall-run the U-shaped chasm of molten metal. With just a millisecond of aiming and firing a prototype gadget that had slim chances of even working. The purple mouse just stared from above, his face looking dumbfounded.

'Wisps' didn't need to see his friend's face to know what he was thinking. "If ya don't close that trap of yours, Buttnik might end up putting a tracking beacon in there!" 'Wisps' joked as he turned to face his stunned friend. Snickers snapped out of his shock and came running over to his friend. As soon as he was standing a foot away from him, Snickers finally spoke.

"That… was… AWESOME!"

"Shhhh! Quiet. Last thing we need is for unwanted attention," 'Wisps' warned.

"Sorry. But, dude, how'd you know that would work? Did you plan this?"

"Would you believe me if I said yes?"

"Hell, no!"

"Then yes," the hedgehog joked, giving his friend a cocky smile. "Anyways, we should keep moving. We're almost there."

"Right," Snickers agreed. And the two friends continued running towards the nearby control plant.

 **(Music fades)**

After a few more minutes, they reached their destination. Inside the control plant, hundreds upon hundreds of pipes were seen. To the untrained eye, the pipes all lead to the same destination. Lucky for 'Wisps', his pal Snickers was anything but untrained.

"So, think you know which pipe it is?" the hedgehog asked.

"Gimme about a minute," the mouse said as he started to investigate the endless sea of pipes.

'Wisps' silently waited. Within 45 seconds, Snickers spoke up.

"Found it!"

'Wisps' came by to the pipe Snickers was pointing to.

"So this is the pipe?"

"Yup."

"As in THE pipe?"

"Yes, THE very pipe."

"You, my dear friend, should have the honors of cracking this bad boy open," 'Wisps' stated as he pulled out a pipe wrench from Snicker's bag and presented to him as if the wrench was a sacred sword.

"Thank you. I will use its power wisely and justly," Snickers smirked as he turned a couple of valves to stop fluid flow so he could safely remove the pipe in question.

As he started to remove the pipe, 'Wisps' pulled out everything they collected for their mission from his quills and from the "bag of tricks". A minute later, Snickers had the pipe removed. He held out his hand.

"Candy wrapper," he ordered.

'Wisps' handed him the wrapper from his chocolate bar eaten earlier. Snickers then shoved the wrapper into the pipe.

"Rubber bands."

'Wisps' handed him the item.

"Pair of dirty socks."

This went on for about 10 minutes. They put everything they could get their hands on into that pipe: nails, moldy bread, balloon full of ink, a couple of SWAT-bot data chips that Robotnik has been searching for, and a brick, just to list off a few items.

Content with their newly "improved" pipe, Snickers started putting it back into place.

"So we're gonna die if he finds out, right?" asked Snickers.

"Oh, we are so screwed. It's not 'if', but 'when' he finds out," 'Wisps' replied.

The two partners against crime chuckled at their little joke. "How long do you think it will take?"

Snickers replied, "My money's on four hours from now."

"My money's on 30 minutes from now. Of course, this bet is irrelevant since we both don't have a ring to our name."

"Oh, shut up and let me have my moments."

"Have you moment when you get back to your station. We've been gone for almost 40 minutes now. I was just being generous by saying we had three hours," 'Wisps' explained.

Snickers had just finished putting the pipe back in and literally dropped the wrench into his bag when he heard that last sentence.

"Wait… then how much time did we really have?" he asked.

'Wisps' gave his optimistic friend an answer he did not like.

The two stared at each other for a good 10 seconds before they said together, "We are so ****ed…"

And without another moment of pause the two dashed out of the control plant and headed to their respective stations.

 _*** 30 Minutes Later ***_

'Wisps' managed to get back to his station in 15 minutes after leaving the plant. He was busy tinkering with a module he was ordered to build. It was practically done, with some modifications made to give the Freedom Fighters improved chances. He stashed his grapple bracelet away in his quills and bandages. The one fortunate thing the Robotnik never does was have the SWATbots do a pat down. Shocking, even for the young speedster.

" _I hope Snickers made it back in time,"_ the worried hedgehog thought.

As he continued tinkering on a damaged circuit board, a sudden sound was heard, thundering throughout Robotropolis. To most, it could only be described as a bloodthirsty, rage inducing, unholy yell of evil. To 'Wisps' and Snickers, on the other hand…

"I'M GONNA KILL THAT ****ING HEDGEHOG AND HIS PURPLE RAT-F*** FRIEND WITH MY BARE HANDS!"

… it was music to their ears. Normally, 'Wisps' would be shocked that ol' Buttnik would call his friend a rat, usually earning him 20 less SWAT-bots from Snickers' rage and the "I can't believe that happened" look from 'Wisps'. You know, the one where you go wide-eyed, your jaw is wide open but your lips make the small O-shape? Yeah, that face.

Five minutes later, the elevator behind 'Wisps' opened. 'Wisps' turned around expecting either a SWAT-bot or a very, very angry Julien Robotnik. Fortunately, it was both. And he was covered in what could only be described as raw sewage.

[ **Handel Messiah - Hallelujah Chorus** ] (Uploaded by Luis Peres) (0:00 – 0:16)

 **(Listen to the sixteen second clip before reading on)**

" _There must be a God,"_ 'Wisps' pondered.

[ **AoSTH Dr. Robotnik Theme Remastered** ] (Uploaded by Turret 3471) (0:00 and keep looping until further notice)

Robotnik marched over to the amused hedgehog, followed by two SWAT-bots. As the dictator came over, 'Wisps' slid off his goggles down, letting them hanging around his neck as he got better view of Robotnik. 'Wisps' could only pray there was security footage of this somewhere in a storage archive for him to grab if he ever escapes. Without any shame or regret, 'Wisps' asked the tyrant one question as soon as he was looming over the hedgehog.

"New look, sire?"

"NO!"

"Jeez, no need to shout, I'm right here. Not that I can go anywhere," 'Wisps' stated, pointing to the repaired collar around his neck.

"YOU… you and that rodent friend of yours… you did this… DIDN'T YOU!?"

"If I said 'no', would you even believe me?"

 ***WHUMP***

The force and magnitude of Robotnik's fist flying into the young hedgehog's stomach sent him flying from the rusty stool all the way to the wall of his cell 10 feet away. Now the hedgehog didn't weigh much to begin with, but combine that with over 40 huge chain links, that was a lot of strength in that punch.

"I have enough problems at it is dealing with Sonic the Hedgehog and those annoying Freedom Fighters! I don't need any more crap from you or the mouse!" Robotnik roared.

The force of the punch took the wind out of 'Wisps', as did hitting the wall, but the pain in his stomach was worse than both of the those, combined. On top of that, he was sure that a couple of his ribs were cracked, if not broken.

"What…. *gasp*… makes you think… *cough*… that Snickers and I… *gasp*… had anything to do with… eeerrrgghh… whatever happened?" 'Wisps' asked through the excruciating pain.

"SWAT-bot, approach!" ordered Robotnik.

'Wisps' assumed that he was referring to one of the two SWAT-bots standing next to Robotnik. He realized his error when a certain idiotic SWAT-bot appeared from the elevator. It marched over to Robotnik and took position next to him.

"Yes, what is your command, Lord Robotnik?" the robot asked.

"One moment, SWAT-bot," Robotnik replied before turning his attention back to the hedgehog.

Looking into his eyes, 'Wisps' could see Robotnik was enjoying the pain he was experiencing.

" _Typical,"_ 'Wisps' thought.

"Now, hedgehog," the tyrant continued, "mind telling me why this SWAT-bot insisted that I allowed you to have a… 'special meal' delivered to you?"

'Wisps' silently stared at the SWAT-bot for 10 seconds.

"Huh?"

Yeah, 'Wisps' is playing the stupid card.

"Do I need to repeat myself? I said, why was-"

"I heard what you said. But I have no idea what you are talking about."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really…"

"Approximately one hour and 10 minutes ago, at 9:45 PM, this SWAT-bot was sent to give you your evening meal," Robotnik explained. "Am I correct in saying that this SWAT-bot arrived here at that time and gave you your evening meal?"

" _Here goes nothing,"_ 'Wisps' thought.

"I haven't seen any SWAT-bots since the last time they gave me food, which was two days ago."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really."

"So, you have never seen this SWAT-bot before?"

"How the hell would I know, they all look the same!"

"And why should I believe that the SWAT-bot has not come here to deliver you meal?" Robotnik asked in an irritated tone.

"Do you see a trashcan lid lying and plastic cup lying around?"

The platter in question that was given to 'Wisps' earlier had a tragic encounter with molten metal a few minutes prior.

"Errr… fine! However, there seems to be another problem."

" _Goodbye, world,"_ 'Wisps' joked to himself.

"It would seem that the water systems have malfunctioned. Waste has entered into the water systems. Specifically, the water systems that lead to my personal facilities," Robotnik explained.

" _Oh, really? I would never have guessed."_

"And how- uuugghh… how does this involve me, Robotnik?" the pained hedgehog asked.

The pain had eased over the past couple of minutes, but that's like saying you wiped the mud off your clothes, but they're still dirty with mud stains.

"Don't play dumb, slave! I know it was you. While I may not be able to prove it, you can't prove your own innocence either, now can you?!" Robotnik spat out.

"I can prove it! IF you look on the table, you will see a module I've been working on. The complexity and design took me over an entire day straight to complete!"

That was only half true. While 'Wisps' did work on the component for a whole day straight, he didn't specifically say it was the day before. Unfortunately for him, Robotnik wasn't buying it.

"Do I look like a fool? You could have worked on this in the past 20 minutes for all I know!" the tyrant yelled, marching over to the hedgehog. "I think I've had enough of your lies! You will now be severely punished!"

As Robotnik raised his foot, intending to stomp on the young hedgehog's chest cavity, 'Wisps' closed his eyes and prepared for the inevitable pain.

But nothing happened. 'Wisps' wasn't aware that just before Robotnik was gonna strike, a Surveillance Orb had arrived to give Robotnik an update. He didn't realize this until he opened his eyes. Robotnik had moved aside to hear what the Surveillance Orb had to report.

 **(Music Fades)**

" _Phew. Too close for comfort,"_ the relieved hedgehog thought.

A few more seconds of quiet discussion, Robotnik turned towards the hedgehog. His red eyes were fueled with anger. He then turned to the SWAT-bot.

"YOU!" he screamed, pointing to the SWAT-bot. "You were the one at the water control plant!"

"Error: data does not compute," the SWAT-bot stated.

"Well then, compute this. The Surveillance Orb has just informed me that your tracking beacon shows that you were at the control plant exactly 40 minutes ago!" Robotnik shouted.

" _Heh, I knew it would work!"_ 'Wisps' thought, smiling to himself internally.

What Buttnik didn't know was while the SWAT-bot's tracking beacon was shown to be at the control plant, the SWAT-bot wasn't actually there. Earlier when the SWAT-bot got into the heated argument with the hedgehog, 'Wisps' was close enough to quickly snag the robot's tracking beacon, literally from right under its head. While he was waiting for Snickers to find the right pipe back at the control plant, he tinkered with the beacon to report a different patrol path than the SWAT-bot was actually programmed to have.

"Error: does not compute. System beacon must need maintena-"

But before the SWAT-bot could continue to protest, Robotnik grabbed it by the neck and started to repeatedly bash its head in. 'Wisps' was no longer happy. In fact, his eyes turned from relief to terror.

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

"You dare accuse me of poor maintenance?!" Robotnik bellowed. "I will make an example out of you!"

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

Robotnik bashed, crushed, and demolished the SWAT-bot before the hedgehog's eyes. He could only stare in fear as he watched the dictator viciously tear the robot to smithereens. 'Wisps' mind started flashing images into the young hedgehog's eyes, images he never wanted to see again. Tears started forming in his eyes.

" _No…."_ he pleaded, shutting his eyes closed, " _No, please… not this… I don't want to relive this nightmare… not again!"_

[ **Shenmue Original Sound Track: Daily Agony** ] (Uploaded by Shenmue Fans) (0:00) (Get tissues)

But his mind had other plans. When 'Wisps' opened his eyes, instead of seeing Robotnik destroying a buggy SWAT-bot, he saw a SWAT-bot brutally attacking a female teal colored hedgehog. Floating above in a Hover Unit was Julian Robotnik, watching and enjoying the beating upon the victim. 'Wisps' looked anywhere other than the heartless abuse before him. The surroundings were no longer that of the foundry and steelworks, but that of Mobotropolis, with buildings burning everywhere. This was the time when Robotnik attacked his hometown nearly a year ago. People were screaming as more and more of Robotnik's forces arrived. Nearby, laid the remains of male sapphire colored hedgehog in a pool of blood, the body showing clear signs of a heinous assault.

" _D-dad?"_

 ***WHAM***

A sudden cry of pain and pleading for mercy brought 'Wisps' focus back to the female hedgehog.

" _Mom?"_

 ***WHAM***

" _Mom!"_

 ***WHAM***

" _No! Mom!"_

 ***WHAM***

" _Leave her alone!"_

 ***WHAM***

'Wisps' tried to run to save his mother, but it seemed as though the faster he ran to her, the farther away she became. And every blow she took, her screams got quieter, and the laughter of Julian Robotnik grew louder and louder.

" _Mom, I'm coming!"_

 ***WHAM***

" _Mom, please, hold on!"_

 ***WHAM***

" _Mom?!"_

 ***WHAM***

" _Mom!"_

 ***WHAM***

" _MOOOOOOOOOOOM!"_

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

That was the day when the young hedgehog lost his family. The day he got captured by Robotnik's forces. The day he became a slave.

After what seemed like hours to the hedgehog, when really only a couple of minutes, Robotnik ceased his destruction upon the remains of the SWAT-bot. By now, 'Wisps' was out of his flashback, tears were falling down his cheeks, his eyes were red and puff. Robotnik turned and left without saying a word to the young disturbed hedgehog, followed by his remaining SWAT-bots and Surveillance Orb. Once they were gone, 'Wisps' pulled his knees to his chest. He pressed his forehead against his knees and cried.

A few minutes later, he wiped his face and tried to get up. A sudden pain jolted through his entire stomach, resulting in 'Wisps' falling back down against the wall. 'Wisps' decided that he was done working for the day and laid down on the ground, trying to get some sleep. But thoughts of his deceased parents prevented this. Within seconds, tears had started the fall from eyes again.

"I miss you guys…" the broken hedgehog cried.

 **(Wait until the music ends)**

 _*** 1 Month before the Doomsday Project ***_

"I hope he made it out okay." 'Wisps' said quietly to himself. "He's gone through enough pain to last him more than… countless lifetimes."

'Wisps' was sitting alone at his workstation staring at the security footage on the three monitors while tinkering with a communications device. Over the past five months, he managed to convince Buttnik that he would work much more efficiently if he had some kind of monitor to work his blueprints on. He also noted that he would have much more space on his table with physical blueprints out of the way. Of course, while this was true, this was not the primary reason why 'Wisps' wanted the monitors. He also needed them, so he could have a peak at the security footage he planned on hacking into. Which he did. For three months, 'Wisps' has been able to get a better sense of what was happening with the Freedom Fighter's war against Robotnik.

And the news was not good. 'Wisps' found out a month ago that Robotnik was building a war-ending device, dubbed "The Doomsday Project". 'Wisps' wasn't sure what this "Doomsday Project" was, but he had a feeling that every component he was building for the past few months may have been part of it. He had theories of what it could be, but he dared not to fear the worst.

'Wisps' wasn't really paying close attention to the device he was modifying. For weeks, he tried to modify a SWAT-bot communicator, so he could attempt communications with anyone outside, whether it was the Freedom Fighters or anyone from a nearby region. But attempt after attempt just ended in failure. So, when he heard Princess Sally's voice coming from the communicator, to say was surprised would be an understatement.

"Whoooaa!" 'Wisps' cried out as he started to unintentionally juggle the communicator around.

Finally calmed down, and turning down the volume on the communicator, 'Wisps' listened in the best he could to what the princess was saying. Although it was definitely her voice, the quality of the conversation was poor. Making slight tweaks to the circuit components, the signal and voice quality became clearer.

" _ **Sonic, come on! *zzz* We need to ge- *zzz* of here!"**_

" _It is the princess. But what's going on?"_ 'Wisps' thought.

" _ **Hold on, Sal! Th- *zzz* a kid down the- *zzz*"**_

"' _A kid'? Could it be?"_ 'Wisps' wondered.

Without hesitation, 'Wisps' turned his attention to the security feeds. There were hundreds, if not thousands, of video feeds and it was nearly impossible to know where the group was without more information. Regardless, 'Wisps' cycled through each feed one by one, hoping that he would be able to find them.

" _ **Sonic, h- *zzz* -ry up! The SWAT-bots will show up any second!"**_

" _Dammit, where are they?"_

" _ **Sally, get the Hover Unit ready. We're coming in hot!"**_

" _Hover Unit? The hanger bay!"_ 'Wisps' realized.

Typing in a few command lines, he swapped the feed over to the security footage from one of the Security Orbs in the hanger bay. 'Wisps' watched the event on the screen. Princess Sally was inside a highjacked Hover Unit and was flying at a decent speed but very low to the ground. Coming in from the right side of the screen was the blue blur himself, Sonic the Hedgehog. He appeared to be holding on to something, or someone, 'Wisps' hoped. Typing in a couple more command lines, the feed zoomed in on Sonic. He could definitely tell that Sonic was indeed carrying a person, but 'Wisps' couldn't make out any features because the person was wearing a huge oversized trench coat. The same trench coat 'Wisps' gave to the escapee minutes ago.

" _He made it! Holy crap, he actually made it out!"_

As fast as he was relieved to see his friend made it out alive, he was immediately alerted by the impending danger of the SWAT-bots closing in. As 'Wisps' zoomed the camera out more, he could see Sonic sprinting aboard the Hover Unit, with 'Wisps' friend safely aboard. Suddenly, an object appeared on screen that made his heart stop. Outside of the hanger bay was a towering laser cannon. And it was charging up and taking aim at the unsuspecting Freedom Fighters.

"No!" 'Wisps' cried out.

[ **Radical Train (The Chase) - Sonic the Hedgehog [OST]** ] (Uploaded by DeoxysPrime) (0:00)

He immediately grabbed the communicator and proceeded to warn the trio. But stopped. It was as though time slowed down around him. He wanted to warn them. He truly did. But he knew he couldn't. If he did communicate with them, then Robotnik would know about it and would kill him on the spot. But the main reason was because 'Wisps' needed more information on the "Doomsday Project". If he died now, the chances of the Freedom Fighters defeating Robotnik, let alone the "Doomsday Project", were possibly next to nothing. But he also knew that if he did nothing right now, then the Freedom Fighters will lose their only hope for stopping Robotnik.

" _What can I do? I can't warn them without getting myself killed. And doing nothing will get them killed."_

'Wisps' stared back at the footage outside the hanger bay. SWAT-bots were surrounding them and the Surveillance Orbs were watching their every-

"Wait! That's it!" 'Wisps' exclaimed.

Wasting no time, the young hedgehog started inputting commands into the system. The laser cannon was growing brighter and brighter by the second. 'Wisps' fingers were moving so fast over the keyboard, it looked as though they could give Sonic's legs serious competition. A couple of seconds later, the cannon fired a huge ball of energy right towards the heroes. The projectile moved closer and closer to the Hover Unit. It was just mere feet away when a Surveillance Orb flew into the ball of energy, causing a small explosion. When the smoke cleared, 'Wisps' could see that the Hover Unit was unscathed, along with its passengers, who were giving each other confused looks.

Suddenly, another ball of energy was fired by the cannon. As Sonic and Sally focused on flying out of Robotropolis, 'Wisps' got back to work and hacked another Surveillance Orb and block the attack again. And again. And again. As this went on, the Hover Unit blasted off towards the distance, leaving a fleet of robots behind in the dust.

 **(Music fades)**

" _ **We did it. Woohoo! Eat our dust, Robuttnik!"**_

" _ **Sonic, who is that?"**_

" _ **I don't know, Sally. Kid isn't talking."**_

" _ **Well, at least you're both safe. Now, let's g- *zzz* -ome. *zzzzzzz*"**_

[ **Halo: Reach OST Extras "Ghosts and Glass (Piano)"** ] (Uploaded by Cloud Tridyrium) (0:00)

Once he knew they were safe, 'Wisps' turned the communicator off, slid his goggles down off his face, and sat down on the stool. He just now noticed that during that whole stressful situation, he stood up while hacking the bots. He let out a long sigh of relief and wiped some sweat off his face. He then leaned his elbows onto the table and held his face in his hands, trying to calm down and relax.

He stayed like this for five minutes. He would have continued like that if it weren't for the sound of metal and glass scraping on the floor behind him. 'Wisps' slowly turned, wide eyed, to face what he could only guess was the beginning of the end of his life. Standing a couple of feet away was a dark brown roboticized Mobian. The hedgehog's eyes got even wider. It took him a moment to realize that the robot slave before him was the very last Mobian he saw get roboticized in person. 'Wisps' started to shake.

" _So, this is it, huh?"_ he thought. _"The last Mobian I saw roboticized is the one that ends my life."_

'Wisps' closed his eyes, bracing for the slave to alert all of Robotropolis of his deed. Seconds went by, and yet, nothing happened. 'Wisps' slowly opened his eyes only to see that the slave was now standing next to him, staring at a frozen image of Sonic, Sally, and the rescued Mobian. The robot slowly raised its arm, moving it towards the image displayed on the monitor, until its robotic feline hand caressed the screen.

"… Sonic…" it spoke.

'Wisps' couldn't believe what he was seeing or hearing. A roboticized Mobian was showing signs of breaking free from Robotnik's control and gaining its own free will again. The robot then took its hand off the monitor and turned around. Before it walked off, he couldn't tell at first, but 'Wisps' could have sworn the robot was smiling at him.

After sitting for another minute, 'Wisps' started to feel the weight of the chain and collar on his neck take its toll on his body. It was getting late, so he decided that now would be a good time to get some rest. Before walking over to his cell to sleep, 'Wisps' took one last look at the freeze frame.

"Someday, my friend," he spoke softly as turned off all the monitors and hid the communicator away in his quills.

As he walked into his cell, 'Wisp' looked at the small printed picture of Robotnik that hung on the wall, which he used as a dartboard, using nails as darts. After months and months of forced work and pain, after all the events that he had witnessed, after what had happened today, 'Wisps' stormed over to the picture…

And with every bit a strength he could muster, punched the photo dead center, leaving a good two-inch imprint in the stone wall.

"Someday…"

 **(Wait until music ends)**

 _*** Doomsday Project ***_

"Sonic."

No reply.

"Sonic."

No reply.

"Sonic! Do you read me?"

No reply.

"Dammit!" 'Wisps' shouted, slamming his fist onto his table.

He was starting to panic. Just moments ago, he got word over the communicator that the Freedom Fighters were planning on using explosives to destroy the "Doomsday Project" power core. While the communicator did a great job receiving broadcasts, 'Wisps' just couldn't get the damn thing to send communication signals. He had to warn them that the power core is protected by a diamond-reinforced casing. Worse, Robotnik knows of their plan and is expecting Sonic to show up.

While all this is happening, 'Wisps' was also trying to get as many Mobians and roboticized slaves out of Robotropolis. Thanks to the efforts of Sonic's Uncle Chuck, the Freedom Fighters have managed to create a permanent De-Roboticizer. Knowing that the slaves will finally be free, 'Wisps' spent the as much time as he could finding information on the "Doomsday Project". And what he discovered horrified him. The project consisted of multiple "Doomsday Pods", large UFO-like vehicles with a barrage of weapons, capable of destroying everything in their path. Everyone already knew this by now. What they didn't know was that each pod also contained a nuclear warhead, each capable of leveling all of Robotropolis and the surrounding area, including Knothole. To make matters even worse, the power core itself was a nuke, the largest of all. 'Wisps' calculated that if the power core nuke were to go off, the entire planet was doomed.

After making a few more modifications to the communicator, 'Wisps' tried contracting the Freedom Fighters again.

"Sonic?"

No reply.

"Sonic, does anyone read me?"

No reply.

"This can't be happening," the hedgehog moaned as he combed his hands through his quills.

Looking towards the security feed, he realized he was too late. Sonic was already at the core, getting the explosives ready. 'Wisps' knew the power core created too much interference, so the communicator was now useless, as if it wasn't before.

"Shit!" 'Wisps' swore, angrily throwing it across the room. And almost hitting a certain roboticized hedgehog.

"What do you think you're doing, throwing a fit like that?" Charles asked, startling 'Wisps'.

Regaining his composure, 'Wisps' walked up to Chuck.

"Praying for a miracle that's never gonna happen," 'Wisps' exploded. "It's over. I wasn't able to contact Sonic or anyone and warn them of the grave mistake their making!"

Charles just stood there and listened.

"That core is protected by a diamond-reinforced casing and houses a nuke powerful enough to destroy the world!" 'Wisps' continued. "And to top it all off, I can't do a damn thing from here, because I have to make sure everyone down here escapes! So why are you down here, when you should be up there fighting!?"

"Why don't you do something about it, 'Wisps'!?" exclaimed Charles.

'Wisps' stood there, shocked.

"Huh?"

"You think you can help save all of us, but you forget that we were, and still are, willing to fight to the death to end Robotnik's rule! Even if 1000 of us die, we would die knowing we fought for something we believed in. Do you really think that you staying down here will help save us, or anyone for that matter? What is the right thing? Saving my nephew, who might be our last and only hope, or the hundreds of us left down here? Would you be able to forgive yourself if you knew you could do something to save the world but did nothing?"

The questions hit 'Wisps' like 100 punches to the gut. Charles was right. All this time, 'Wisps' felt that it was his responsibility to save all the people trapped in Robotropolis. He couldn't see that everyone made the choice to fight against Buttnik, that they knew death or roboticization was almost certain. He now realized his mistake. Looking back at the screen, showing Sonic almost finishing up with the explosives, 'Wisps' knew what he had to do. He walked over to his secret compartment and pulled out, not one, but two grapple bracelets.

"I hope you're making the right choice," Charles stated.

"Thanks, Charles," 'Wisps' said as he put the bracelets on his wrists. "Before I get going, I have to ask, how do you know my-"

Looking up, 'Wisps' was surprised to see that Charles was nowhere to be seen.

"Name?"

Before he could ponder his own question, 'Wisps' looked over at the monitors in time to see that a 15-minute timer had appeared on them and was counting down.

[ **Future Fuckballs 2010 - Angry Video Game Nerd Adventures Music Extended** ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Not much time to work with. Not that any of us have had enough to begin with," 'Wisps' muttered to himself.

 _*** 14 minutes 55 seconds left ***_

Pulling his goggles over his eyes, 'Wisps' turned his attention to the elevator. It was the fastest way to get to the surface, since the escape tunnels were overwhelmed with escaping Freedom Fighters and Mobian robot slaves. Only Robotnik and his robots were allowed access to the elevator, so 'Wisps' called for some room service. Robotnik had recently added a tampering module to the hedgehog's collar, which when activated would alert all nearby SWAT-bots to find and eliminate him. Of course, 'Wisps' was planning on being found. The elimination part, not so much. Grabbing a hammer off the work table, he took one last at Sonic's image before hitting the collar with the hammer a couple of times and then throwing the tool at the screens. The shattered glass fell everywhere and only a few hit the ground before alarms started wailing.

"Well, no going back now. Time to save the world," 'Wisps' told himself as he ripped off his collar, which was now also detached from the chain.

Not even 15 seconds passed before a team of four SWAT-bots arrived from the elevator.

"Stay right where you are, prisoner!" they ordered.

'Wisps' launched both his grapples toward the robot squad, latching on to the heads of the rightmost and leftmost SWAT-bots. As soon as he hit his mark, the bracelets pulled on the wires and 'Wisps' launched himself toward the robots, flying at such a tremendous velocity. He was going so fast, that as soon as he introduced his feet to the faces of the two middle SWAT-bots, their heads literally detached from their bodies. Milliseconds later, 'Wisps' pulled his arms around his body, pulling the remaining SWAT-bots heads off their bodies. Spinning a few times in the air, he reduced friction from the air and sailed into the elevator, landing perfectly on his feet. Hitting the ground floor button, 'Wisps' turned around and closed his eyes, mentally readying himself for the upcoming battle and took a deep breath. As the elevator closed and 'Wisps' opened his eyes, he wasn't aware that his irises were glowing a light blue for a moment through his goggles.

 _*** 13 minutes 42 seconds left ***_

The elevator ride was uneventful, as was leaving the facility through the front door. In fact, only a couple of SWAT-bots could be seen anywhere from where 'Wisps' was looking. Not far, he could see the "Doomsday Project" power core. Not wasting another second, 'Wisps' sprinted towards it, hoping he could reach Sonic in time.

"INTRUDER ALERT! INTRUDER ALERT!"

"Great, more SWAT-bots," 'Wisps' muttered as dozens started showing up from underground chambers.

The SWAT-bots aimed their weapons at the rebelling hedgehog and took fire. Running, jumping, dashing, sidestepping, grappling; 'Wisps' did everything he possibly could to avoid the blasts. Timing his windows of opportunity, 'Wisps' punched, smashed, grappled, and spin dashed into the army of robots. But for each SWAT-bot destroyed, another two would take its place. This went on for minutes, debris of destroyed bots lain everywhere, and 'Wisps' was beginning to wear out. But at the same time, and 'Wisps' didn't realize it at the time, but time was slowing down around him.

" _I don't know how much longer I can hold out. And on top of it, I'm wasting time dealing with these piles of junk."_

Suddenly, as 'Wisps' slid under a SWAT-bot, resulting in it colliding with another and destroying both, he saw smoke rising from where the power core was located. His eyes widened. He knew Sonic must have detonated the explosives. And that was Robotnik's cue to spring his trap and capture Sonic! As tired as he was, 'Wisps' took every ounce of strength he could muster, jumped into the air, and began to spin dash as fast as possible. Faster and faster he spun, ignoring the pain he was in and not noticing the few strands of bandages the were flying off his body. Feeling that his body was burning, he released his stored-up energy and blasted through countless SWAT-bots as he made his way to Sonic.

 _*** 10 minutes 3 seconds left ***_

"So, hedgehog, how do you like my diamond-glass dome?" Robotnik sneered.

"It stinks, Robuttnik!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Does it, indeed?" Robotnik scoffed. "Well then…"

" _Almost there…"_ 'Wisps' thought as he uncurled from his rotating form and sprinted as fast as he could.

"… perhaps we need some…"

" _So close. Come on legs, don't fail me now."_

"… VENTILATION!" exclaimed Robotnik as he pushed a button on his remote control.

Immediately, two floor panels behind Sonic opened and a huge pipe rose out. The pipe was a vacuum tube and, just as Sonic took a couple steps forward, began to pull him inside.

"H-heeeeeyyy!" Sonic cried out as he was swept off his feet.

"Oh, no you don't!" a voice boomed.

Before Robotnik could turn towards the origin of the voice, a gray streak rushed by, grabbed Sonic by arm without pause, and took off into one of the nearby facility buildings.

"What!?" cried Robotnik. "No… No! This can't be happening! I had the blue rat in my grasps! How? How could this have happened?!"

His rage was growing by the millisecond. No surprise there.

"I'm gonna find that hedgehog… and then I'll find that slave… and when I do… I will kill them both with my bare hands. You hear me, fools! I WILL END YOU!"

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** 8 minutes 52 seconds left ***_

"Uuuhhh…" moaned Sonic as he rubbed his left shoulder. He was leaning against the wall of one of the unoccupied buildings.

'Wisps' was sitting next to him, pulling out a roll of bandage-tape and catching his breath. Surprisingly, he wasn't as tired as he was expecting, just worked up about rescuing Sonic in a high stress, last second situation.

"So," said Sonic, "I suppose I owe you big time for saving my quills back there. But I could have handled whatever Buttnik had in store."

"If the situation wasn't so dire, I wouldn't doubt that," 'Wisps' replied as he rewrapped his shoes and gloves quickly. "I'm sure you'd love to make more chitchat, but we don't have the luxury of time. We have only minutes at most from this whole place becoming the epicenter of a nuclear explosion!"

The blue hedgehog was alarmed, slack jawed from this new information. After a brief moment of silence, Sonic spoke.

"Whoa. That's not cool. I can't believe ol' Buttnik would go this far…"

"We can't waste any more time," 'Wisps' stated. "There must be something we can do to stop that countdown."

"Countdown?!" Sonic cried out.

"Sonic, do you or any of the Freedom Fighters have anything that can help stop the 'Doomsday Project'?" 'Wisps' asked, getting up onto his feet.

"Not that I- hey, wait a minute…" Sonic said as he gave 'Wisps' a questionable look. "How were you able to run almost as fast as me?"

'Wisps' wasn't expecting this.

"Huh? I dunno, I was born with the ability to run fast. Look, now isn't the time, we need a plan to-"

"How do you know about the nukes?" Sonic continued questioning. "How do I know you're not lying or working with Robotnik? And who are you exactly?"

'Wisps' wasn't in any mood to play 20 Questions, he needed to convince Sonic that he was a friend. Or at least an ally.

" _What do I say?"_ 'Wisps' thought. _"I can't tell him that I was working for Robotnik as a slave. He'd assume the worst and ask more questions."_

"Well? I'm waiting…" Sonic said with his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed, and his foot tapping impatiently.

" _What do I do? What do I do? What do I- wait. Of course!"_

"THUNDERSTORM!" exclaimed 'Wisps'.

Sonic's eyes softened a bit.

"What?"

"Thunderstorm. That's the code-word, right? The one that kid gave you a month ago? In the hanger bay?" 'Wisps' asked.

It took Sonic a second to remember, but he realized the bandaged individual in front of him was telling the truth.

"You. You're the one the kid mentioned. You're 'Wisps', aren't ya?"

"Yup. That's me. Sorry, it took me a moment to remember I gave the kid that code-word. So… do you believe me now?" 'Wisps' asked.

"I do now. But to answer you're question, I don't have any idea what we could do about the nukes. That kid mentioned you were good with computers. Couldn't you just hack into Buttnik's network and override the bombs?"

"I could, if I was in Robotnik's main control room… and he wasn't there. And that's assuming we can even stop the countdown at all."

The two hedgehogs stared at each other for a couple of seconds before a female voice broke the silence.

"I think I have a possible solution, Sonic."

Sonic reached into his quills and pulled out a small computer unit.

"Whaddaya got, Nicole?" Sonic asked.

" _So, this is Nicole…"_ 'Wisps' noted to himself.

"Sonic, you have one of the Deep Power Stones in your possession," Nicole stated.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, "but it's no good without the second one. And Robotnik's hidden it somewhere."

"I know. But, if you can retrieve that second Deep Power Stone and combine the two, the power surge will be powerful enough to destroy the Doomsday Device without setting off the nuclear explosives," Nicole explained.

"Sorry to interrupt," said 'Wisps', "but a power surge that powerful means not only destroying the Doomsday Project, but also killing everyone within 10 miles outside of Robotropolis. And that's being generous. If not that, the power required could end up blowing up all of Mobius."

"What are you saying, 'Wisps'?" asked Sonic.

"What he is saying, Sonic," explained Nicole, "is that either way, the planet is be doomed. However, there might be another way."

"Yes?" the two hedgehogs asked.

"If Sonic were to combine the Stones the other way around, he could become powerful enough to destroy Robotropolis, without the risk of harming the others," Nicole explained.

"I'm guessing there's a 'but' in that theory?" 'Wisps' asked.

"But, I need more time to scan the Stone. I'm not 100% certain that this is possible and the scan will take minutes. However, if you could find the other stone, I will be able to complete the scan within seconds."

"Wait," said 'Wisps', "what do you mean 'more time to scan'? Sonic, do you have the Deep Power Stone on you!?"

"Yeah, I keep it safe with me at all times. Why?"

"I assumed it was… never mind. If you already have one with you now, this plan might work. I think I have an idea of where Robotnik stashed the other stone."

"Where?" Sonic asked.

"The one place that only Robotnik is allowed entry," replied 'Wisps'. "His private quarters."

 _*** 4 minutes and 33 seconds left ***_

[ **Stardust Speedway Zone Act 1 - Sonic Mania - Music Extended** ] (Uploaded by Crunchii [Music Extensions]) (0:00)

The hedgehogs entered the enemy's private quarters. Not much to say about the decor of the room. It looked as though it was someone's office space; a couple of shelves with boxes, a couple of filing cabinets, three bookshelves with a few books, and a suspicious looking electronic safe on a table.

"Can't believe Robuttnik had ordered all his SWAT-bots to Doomsday. Heh, that guy will never learn," 'Wisps' chuckled as he walked towards the boxes.

"I bet I know where Robuttnik's hidden the Stone!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Really?" replied 'Wisps'. "Wanna bet?"

"Is that a challenge, I hear? 'Cause you're on!"

"OK, then. I bet 50 rings you don't know where the Stone's hidden."

"100 rings says I do," retorted Sonic.

"Deal," 'Wisps said as the two shook on it. "So, where do you think it is? And no takesy backsies!"

"It's obvious," Sonic smirked as he dashed towards the safe. As he gave it a couple of pats on top, he said, "It's right here."

"If you say so," said 'Wisps' as he started looking in one of the boxes, throwing junk out of them.

Sonic pulled out Nicole.

"Alright, Nicole," Sonic said, "time for you to do your thing."

"No problem, Sonic." Nicole stated as she started hacking into the safe.

A minute and Sonic's patience out the window later…

"Can we pick up the pace, Nicole?" Sonic impatiently asked.

"Just chill, Sonic." Nicole replied. "You're stressing me."

Seconds later, Nicole had the safe unlocked.

"Open sesame."

"Way past Nicole!" Sonic complimented.

Sonic then stuck his head into the safe, pulling out papers and blueprints, sending them flying all around him.

"Awww, nothing!" he complained.

" _I win."_ 'Wisps' mentally cheered as he tossed the 14th box over his shoulder.

"We keep looking, right?" Nicole asked.

"Right." Sonic confirmed. He then turned his attention to the shelf next to 'Wisps' and rushed towards it.

"Sonic, stop!" Nicole ordered.

"Say what?!" Sonic complained.

"Back it up." Nicole ordered.

Sonic backed up a couple of steps and looked towards the table next to the safe. Sitting on top of the table was some sort of decorative pottery. And sitting on top of that was the second Deep Power Stone.

"Way cool, Nicole!" Sonic cheered as he grabbed the Stone.

"Hey, you guys found it!" 'Wisps' cheered. "Nice work. How did we not see that to begin wih? Anyways… Nicole, can you finish your scan now? We have to hurry, we only have two minutes at most left!"

"Yes. Give me a moment." Nicole said as Sonic pulled out the other Stone for her to scan alongside the first.

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** 1 minute 30 seconds left ***_

A couple of seconds later, Nicole finished her scan.

"Scan complete. Combining the stones will grant Sonic immense power. However, I am unable to determine if he will be able to withstand this amount of power," she stated.

"How powerful are we talking, Nicole?" asked Sonic.

"The equivalent of 10,000 Power Rings," she said.

"Whoa… that's a lot of power," said 'Wisps'.

"10,000?! That sure is a big number," Sonic added.

"The only alternative is almost certain destruction of Mobius," Nicole reminded the two.

"Think you can do it, Sonic?" 'Wisps' asked.

Sonic turned to his ally, smirking.

"No other way. It's time to juice and jam!" he exclaimed.

He walked up to 'Wisps'.

 _*** 1 minute left ***_

"No telling what will happen when I combine the Stones. You better get outta here and head for Knothole. Make sure everyone is safe," Sonic ordered.

"I will," 'Wisps' said.

"If I don't make it, tell my buddy, Tails, to take care of himself. And tell Sally… tell her I'll always be by her side," Sonic added as he handed Nicole to 'Wisps'.

'Wisps' nodded. He waved farewell to the blue hero and dashed out of the room. As he exited the facility, 'Wisps' caught a glimpse of a bright shining object flying around the Doomsday Project.

 _*** 30 seconds left ***_

"I guess your theory was right, Nicole." 'Wisps' said to the computer unit in his hand.

"Way past cool," she replied.

'Wisps' then headed straight for the Doomsday control room, where Robotnik was located.

"'Wisps'?" Nicole asked. "You do realize this is the wrong way towards Knothole, right?"

"Don't worry, Nicole," 'Wisps' replied. "Just making a quick stop before heading there."

 _*** 30 seconds left ***_

[ **The World Adventure - Sonic Unleashed Music** ] (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (1:55)

"Grrr… Hedgehog!" yelled Robotnik, as he marched into his escape pod.

"B-b-b-but, sir, w-w-wait for-" Snively begged.

"There's only room for one, Snively!" Robotnik remarked to his nephew as the hatch closed behind him.

As the escape pod's launch sequence activated, Snively said, "You don't give me enough credit… Julian!"

Snively walked towards one of the control panels and pushed a button. A secret elevator rose from the floor and Snively entered it. The door closed behind him and he went down into the underground chambers he had secretly built behind his uncle's back.

Back inside the escape pod, Robotnik was pushing buttons left and right, getting the pod ready for launch. Seconds later, the pod began to rise. Suddenly, only a few feet above the ground, the pod jerked to a halt.

"What?" Robotnik cried out. "Why is the pod not taking off?"

He pushed a couple of buttons, but the pod wouldn't budge.

"Oh, come on, now? Of all times?" he asked.

He tried everything possible, but Robotnik got the same result.

"Aaaahhhh!" he screamed. "What's going on? Why won't this piece of junk-"

 *** "Yoo-hoo" Whistle ***

"Huh?" Robotnik grunted as he looked out the window. "WHAT THE…"

On the ground below stood 'Wisps', smirking at the enraged Robotnik. And next to him were a large number of chains that were bolted to the ground…

… and were all wrapped around the escape pod, preventing liftoff and Robotnik's escape.

"Looks like Sonic destroyed all your nukes, Robuttnik! Too bad you're not getting away that easily!" 'Wisps' exclaimed, pointing to the completed countdown timer on the nearby monitor.

"You little… I'm gonna gut you alive when I get my hands on you! And then, I'll find that Sonic and-" Robotnik roared.

"Oh, really? And how do you plan on doing that, Buttstink? The hatch door?"

Robotnik took a second to understand he was in bigger trouble now. He got up and ran to the hatch. When it opened, he knew he was doomed. The exit was covered by a sheet of metal that was held down by all the chains 'Wisps' had wrapped around the pod.

"This is for everyone you've hurt and killed!" 'Wisps' yelled at the nervous tyrant.

"NO!" Robotnik roared as he scrambled back to the controls. He looked outside again, just in time to see 'Wisps' give a two-finger farewell wave off and dash away.

As 'Wisps' dashed towards Knothole and Sonic flew throughout Doomsday, they could hear the faint voice of Robotnik growing louder and louder.

"I really hate those hedgehogs. I hate them! I hate them! HATE THEM! Hate! Hate! Hate! HAAAAAAAAAATE!"

As the end of Doomsday neared its completion, the life of Julian Robotnik ended as well. Seconds later, Robotropolis was no more.

 **(Wait for music to finish)**

 _*** 1 hour later ***_

[ **Stardew Valley OST - A Golden Star Is Born** ] (Uploaded by Lewie G) (0:00)

'Wisps' arrived at Knothole once he knew everyone had escaped unharmed. Luckily, Sonic survived the power granted by the Stones and was happily reunited with his friends. 'Wisps' wanted to be a part of the community and introduce himself to everyone, but he couldn't. He wanted to get away from here, as far as possible. The memories of everything that had happened to him over the past year still haunted him. 'Wisps' felt more uncomfortable being here. Taking one last look at the happy celebration around Knothole, 'Wisps' dashed towards Sonic and Sally, placing Nicole into Sally's hands, and ran off before anyone could see him. He ran as fast as he could towards the sunrise.

" _It's over,"_ 'Wisps' thought to himself. _"Juilan is finally gone. And everyone's now free. And I can start finding peace."_

He continued along his path for a few seconds before halting to get one last look of the re-founded Mobotropolis. As he turned around, he was sure he was alone.

"Leaving so soon, buddy?"

Or so he thought.

'Wisps' sighed. "Of course, you would be the one to notice."

Sonic smiled. "What can I say? I'm the fastest thing alive."

"No arguing here."

The two were standing a few feet away from each other, staring in silence.

"So, you're leaving?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah. I've got something that I need to take care of." 'Wisps' replied.

"Can't you stay for a while? You could help us rebuild the kingdom or-"

"Like I said, Sonic, I've got something that I need to take care of."

"You sure?"

"Yup. Don't get the wrong idea, Sonic. I would love to help out around here, but I have my reasons as to why I can't stay."

"… Well," said Sonic, "if you ever happen to be around, give us a call."

"I doubt that will happen…" replied 'Wisps'. "But if I do, I will."

With that, 'Wisps' turned around and got ready to begin his own journey.

"Hey!" Sonic called out, just as 'Wisps' was about to dash away. "Will you at least tell me your real name?"

'Wisps' turned his head back to Sonic and smiled.

"My name is…"

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 **Team Sonic: Aaaannnd? What's his name?!**

 **Me: Nope. Sorry, not yet! Can't give away too much backstory about 'Wisps' now, can I?**

 **Team Sonic: Awwww…**

 **Me: Well, I hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter. It turned out to be a lot longer than I originally planned. I was intending on the prologue to be just a prologue, not an actual chapter, but as I wrote more and more, I decided to make it a whole chapter instead. Yeah. Anyways, I hope this has interested you into the story. I'm already working on Chapter 2 already. Don't worry, you'll be seeing a lot more characters in the next chapter. And I won't be doing any more super long A/Ns. If need be, I'll give brief answers to any questions in the reviews or I will simply direct the question to a previous (or current) chapter. Anyways, please Review and let me know what you think!**

 **Side note: The reason why 'Wisps'' (wow, that looks weird) is in apostrophes is because, in future chapters, he will be referred to by his real name. Mind you, there will be more OCs in this story. The only question is… how many more? Maybe five? Ten? Three? Or maybe none! I won't tell you. You'll just have to wait and see! Until next time! One last thing: the only reason why the first A/N were so long was to give you guys the history of Sonic's adventures in this story. I might update that if need be, but there's no need to fear about future chapters. Those A/N will be much shorter.  
**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	2. Chapter 2: Unexpected Arrivals

**Me: Heh heh… Oh, look! I did write another chapter… Wow…. Ughhh…. Yeah. So, I had some time on my hands and I figured I'd write this next chapter. And somehow managed to write it in about two weeks.**

 **Team Sonic: Yaaaaay!**

 **Me: Shut up. You're ruining my pathetic rambling- oh wait, no, keep going, it actually makes it worse.**

 **Sonic: Aw, come on! You're enjoying this! Your first fanfiction story!**

 **Me: That no one will read….**

 **Tails: Last I checked you had 7 views.**

 **Me: Out of the billions of people on the planet.**

 **Knuckles: Enough talk! I wanna know what happens next!**

 **Me: Alright, alright, calm down, Knucklehead! We'll get there. But first things first. All rights belong to their respected owners. I only own my OCs… and depiction of certain characters….**

 **Knuckles: What the heck does that mean? "Depiction?" Either you own a character, or you don't!**

 **Me: … Shut up, Knuckles, or I will kill you off.**

 **Knuckles: You wouldn't.**

 **Me: You're right, I wouldn't'. I'm too weak. Anyways, on with the story!**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **Not gonna lie, I actual enjoy writing this fanfic. Not a fan of trying to get all my thoughts in order on paper, finding the right songs, and whatnot. But it's still fun. This chapter will be introducing a majority of the characters the story will follow. I hope you like it! Quick note: the "present" time, which takes place 6 months after Sonic Forces, takes place in the year 2020.**

 **Also, if you do find any grammar errors, let me know. I hate grammar errors. Reading stories that have spelling and/or grammatical errors just annoys me. That being said, that would annoy you as well. So please tell me.**

 **Bonus: Can you guess what "game" is crossed-over with the story?**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**

 **UPDATE #1:** **I was rereading this post and somehow a couple of words got deleted, and only for this chapter. How the hell that happened, I have no clue. Just added the missing words here and there. Don't worry, Chapter 3 is about halfway done.**

 **UPDATE #2: Few minor changes here and there.**

 **UPDATE #3: Fix a few errors... again.**

* * *

Chapter 2: Unexpected Arrivals

 _*** October 10, 2020 ***_

 _In a small house, just outside of the town of Blue Moon Village_

In the early morning hours, while most other people are resting peacefully, a doctor is woken up by his blaring alarm clock. Reluctantly, he reaches over to the nightstand, where the clock sits, and after a couple of missed swipes, turns the alarm off. He sits up and stretches his arms out, giving out a long yawn. From his full-size bed, the doctor takes a look around the room.

"Ah. It was just a dream," he muttered to himself.

The hedgehog takes a quick look at the clock. The display read '5:32 AM: Saturday, October 10, 2020' in red lights.

"Saturday. Hopefully not too many patients today."

 **[ Morning Relaxing Music – Positive Energy, Stress Relief, Be Calm (Olivia) ]** (Uploaded by OCB Relax Music) (0:00)

The doctor got out of bed and walked into the bathroom, which was located in front of the foot of the bed. He turned on the lights and began getting ready for today's work. He started running the shower went to the sink. He started taking his gloves and shoes off as he stared at his reflection. Looking back was a dark cerulean colored hedgehog. He had four quills growing from his forehead, the ones on the side hanging midair and the ones in the middle growing back, over, and behind his head; and three additional quills growing from the back of his head. Like every other male Mobian hedgehog, he also had two quills growing from his back. His eyes were a dark blue color and his skin was a peach color. After a brief glance in the mirror, the hedgehog reached into the cabinet on the wall adjacent to the mirror and grabbed a couple of Q-tips and cleaned his ears.

 **Clearly, you don't wanna read about his morning cleaning, so let's make it brief, shall we?**

Cleaned ears, took off shoes and gloves, took shower, got out, dried off, put shoes and gloves back on, grabbed the one of four specially made doctor's coats he had in the closet; he's a Mobian, obviously; walked out of the bedroom, and towards the kitchen.

He wasn't very hungry for breakfast, so he just made himself a cup of hot chocolate. The doctor didn't like coffee for a couple of reasons. One of which was he hated the taste. He got some milk out of the fridge, poured some into a mug, and heated it in the microwave. As the milk heated, the doctor went to his personal desk nearby. His workplace consisted of a couple of bookcases filled with an assortment of medical texts, novels, and puzzle books. On his desk, which was against the wall, was a couple of medical journals, some handwritten notes, and his personal medical journal. Between his desk and one of the bookcases was a shorter bookcase, which held all the doctor's medical and personal journals. Mostly medical, of course. On top of the bookcase was a glowing blue orb, roughly the size of a bowling ball…

A glowing blue orb.

The doctor stared into the orb's aura. His gaze intensified as he remembered the day he first saw this orb. It was a heartbreaking memory. After a couple of minutes of staring, the doctor shock his head and refocused on the day's work.

"Never again," he told himself.

He returned to the kitchen and made his hot chocolate; the milk was lukewarm, but the doctor didn't care. He took his morning fuel and went to a door that linked his house to his clinic. Inside his clinic, he went to his desk and checked his appointment list. He counted only four appointments for the day, but he knew at least one person would come without making an appointment. With the exception of emergency cases, the doctor was not a fan of patients showing up without making an appointment beforehand.

It was only 6:30 AM, so the doctor had plenty of time to fill out patient records and do a little research before his first appointment arrived.

Time went by and the patient showed up. A simple checkup, nothing worth noting and the day progressed. Two more patients arrived, one of which didn't make an appointment. Both had similar complaints about sore throats and persistent coughing fits. Since it was the middle of autumn, the doctor suspected either a minor cold or allergies and prescribed an anti-inflammatory an strong cough medicine.

This was pretty much like any other typical day for the doctor in his clinic; working alone, dealing with usually small health concerns, and the occasional emergency. So far, the day seemed to be going that route…

"Helloooo~!"

 **(Music fades… what you want a record scratch? You add it then.)**

… until she showed up.

" _Of all people, why her?"_ the doctor thought to himself.

 **[ Undertale OST – sans. Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

He looked up to see a young hedgehog standing by the clinic entrance, scampering up to him with a big smile on her face. She was a cinnamon-brown colored Mobian, with strands of her quills dyed a teal blue color. She was wearing a teal blue gothic waitress outfit; consisting of a shirt, black miniskirt accompanied with a brown belt, black thigh-high boots with teal blue decals **(lots of teal blue, huh?)** , and a blue ribbon tied around her neck. She had heterochromia iridum, which means her eyes are not the same color; her left is an NCS (Natural Color System) blue color while her right eye was an emerald green color.

"What are you doing here, Nephy?" the doctor asked his lively visitor.

"What, I can't come visit a friend when I'm on break?" Nephy teased.

"Not when I'm working and especially not when it's unexpected," the doctor sighed.

Nephy smirked. "Oh, come on, Siris! Stop being such a downer. I came here for other reasons, perhaps?"

Siris raised one of his eyebrows…

 **Wait… *Record Scratch* (Pause Music) Mobians don't have eyebrows, do they? Hang on… (Continue Music)**

Siris raised one of his brows at Nephy.

 **Yeah, that should be good…**

"Nephy," said Siris, "why are you here, then? You know how I feel about people showing up without an appointment made beforehand."

Nephy's smile softened.

"I know," she replied, "but my boss told me that I needed to get my flu shot before flu season hits. Otherwise, I can't work."

Siris raised his brow higher.

"And you didn't get it sooner… because why, exactly?"

"I forgot," she replied with an apologetic look on her face.

"You forgot?"

"I forgot."

"How?"

"I forgot."

"This is going nowhere, Nephy," Siris stated, placing his right hand on his forehead. "You're 20 years old and you still act like a child. I sometimes wonder if you only act like this around me, let alone on purpose."

"I'm sorry," she replied. "Can you give me a flu shot? Pretty please?"

Siris remained silent for a moment as Nephy gave him puppy eyes.

"Can you give me a minute? I need to finish this last piece of important patient information for the records," Siris explained.

Nephy nodded and politely went to sit in one of the chairs Siris had set up as a small makeshift waiting room.

 **(Music fades)**

After completing the task, Siris took Nephy into the patient room.

"Aside from the flu shot, do you have any health concerns you wish to tell me?" Siris asked.

"Nope. I'm as fit as a fiddle~!" Nephy chimed.

"That's one way of putting it," Siris remarked. "Any known family history of allergies or negative reactions to vaccines?"

"Nope."

Siris wrote down a couple of notes in the patient file.

"So… anything interesting happening, doc?" asked Nephy.

"No. Can you roll up your right sleeve and give me your shoulder, please?"

Nephy did as instructed.

"Come on, Siris, there must be something! Any new friends?"

"No," Siris replied as he rubbed a cotton ball with alcohol on Nephy's lower shoulder.

"Don't tell me you've been cooped up her in the clinic and your house all this time!"

Siris grabbed a flu shot from the nearby cabinet before replying.

"I go out for groceries and run errands. Now hold still, you'll feel a slight pinch."

Siris injected the shot into Nephy's shoulder.

"There we go. If you feel any pain or muscle fatigue, then rest in bed for a day. If it persists, come back immediately," said Siris.

"Thank you. Shopping doesn't count, Siris."

Siris took a deep breath and sighed.

"Look, Siris, I know you're still hurting. It's been, what, like 2 years now?" she asked.

" _Not now, Nephy."_ Siris mentally begged.

"I know you miss her, but don't you think it's time for you to maybe find someone else?" Nephy asked.

Siris looked straight into her eyes.

"Nephy…"

"I mean, you're all alone here in this clinic, you have no one to help assist you work, and after what happened-"

"Stop," Siris interrupted, not wanting to continue. "I know what you're trying to do, Nephy. And I appreciate the sentiment, but this is a topic I'd rather avoid. No further discussion."

"But-" Nephy began.

"No more." Siris said sternly.

They remained silent for a few seconds.

"I'll lead you out," Siris said.

And he did just that.

 **[ Little Busters! Original Soundtrack CD2 06: "Lamplight" ]** (Uploaded by LittleBustersFanpage) (0:00)

As Nephy walked out, she turned around and said farewell to Siris. He nodded to her in response and closed the door.

Siris leaned against the door and let out a long sigh. It had been two years since he was with anyone. But after what happened, he couldn't open his heart to anyone again without fear of pain and suffering again. As Siris wiped his eyes, he looked at the clock and noticed it was 5 PM.

" _Now might be a good time to close the clinic and do some light shopping."_

He locked up the clinic, went inside his home, hung his coat, and did a quick inventory check to see what he should buy. With list in hand, Siris then headed for the town of Blue Moon Village.

Siris' clinic was only half a mile from the town. Even though it's called Blue Moon Village, historically it was a hundred years ago. As time went on and the population increased, expansion was necessary. Shops and markets started to give rise, which led to more homes, apartments, and larger shops to open up. Nearby was a large and vast forest, filled with harmless creatures and many kinds of plant life. The town was somewhat in the middle of nowhere amongst the fields of grass. With the exception of suppliers coming in by road, not too many visitors ever showed up.

Siris moved to Blue Moon Village a little over two years ago after going through a rough patch in life. He had no friends or relatives around. And while almost everyone in town knows of him as the town doctor, he rarely socialized, if ever, with anyone. He first met Nephy about two weeks after moving in. She worked at the small local café. She was no different before than she was now. Nephy always had a cheerful attitude, if not also a bit energetic. Every so often, Siris would go and eat at the café and Nephy would try to make conversation with him. Nephy found Siris to be very… interesting, in her words. It wouldn't be until months later that Siris would tell her why he moved to the quiet little town. Siris wouldn't necessarily call her a friend, since he only sees her either at the café or the clinic, but she was the closest thing to one he had at the time.

His home was a one-story building, consisting of a small entryway, a kitchen, and a living room that were connected without walls or doorways. The living room had a short hallway that led to two rooms; the first being his bedroom, and the other being a makeshift room he could use for emergency patients. Fortunately, in his time living in Blue Moon Village, Siris has never used it in such a case. At least, not yet, as far as he knew. The two rooms were connected by the bathroom. The clinic was originally built as part of the main house, but when Siris bought it, he used it as a clinic.

After buying some laundry detergent and clinic supplies, Siris debated as to whether or not to grab some dinner at the café. After his earlier conversation with Nephy, he decided not to. He didn't want to make Nephy feel uncomfortable or embarrassed about earlier. That was assuming that she was at work at all that evening.

The town had a lovely reddish-orange hue colored everywhere as the sun was setting. If his life was brighter, Siris might have taken a moment to pause and take in the scene, instead of continuing his journey back home.

When he arrived home, Siris put a couple of bed sheets from the clinic's patient's rooms in the washing machine and made himself a small portion of steamed rice. After that, he wrote another entry into his personal journal before heading off to bed. As he laid in bed, his mind kept going back to his conversation with Nephy that day. Although he would never admit it, he knew Nephy was right. He was alone. But he made a promise to himself and he intended to keep it.

"Never again," he said softly to himself as he drifted to sleep.

 **(Wait until music ends)**

* * *

 _A couple of miles outside Blue Moon Village_

Deep within the forest, the sounds of nature echoed amongst the trees in the late evening. Suddenly, a rush of wind blew through, rustling the branches and sending fallen leaves up into the air. A couple seconds later, a sonic boom followed, causing many small animals to scatter.

 **[ It Doesn't Matter (Sonic's Theme) (Short No Vocals) – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

The cause of the event was none other than the world renown hero: Sonic the Hedgehog.

"Sorry, little guys," he called behind him, "didn't mean to scare ya!"

The scared creatures couldn't hear his apology, as he was already too far away to be heard. Even if they did hear him, they wouldn't have been able to understand what he said.

It had been six months since Sonic, his other younger self, and the rookie had defeated Dr. Eggman and Infinite. While the Resistance was busy rebuilding their homes, as was much of the rest of the world, Sonic decided to travel the world instead. He told everyone that he needed a vacation after everything that had happened, however he had an ulterior motive. After his defeat, Eggman vanished. Some believed him to be stuck forever within Null Space, while others believed him to be dead, or both. A handful, including Sonic, believed Eggman was still around, hiding somewhere on Earth. So, to find the truth, Sonic went searching for him. The only two individuals who Sonic told his real motives to were Tails and Knuckles.

After five months of searching from Capital City to South Island, from Station Square to Apotos, and even the remains of the Egg Carrier and Eggmanland, Sonic was starting to wonder if he was wrong. But he wasn't about to give up that easily. And now his journey brought him to the outskirts of Blue Moon Village.

Boosting through the forest, Sonic dodged trees, rocks, bushes, and cliffsides, searching for anything that could indicate where Eggman could be.

 **(Music fades)**

Suddenly, Sonic caught a glimpse of something that didn't appear to naturally occur in a forest. He skidded to a halt and backtracked a few thousand meters. When he reached the anomaly, he was surprise to see that it appeared to be old base of some sort. Judging by the looks of it, Sonic guessed that the base was abandoned long ago. Yet it looked awfully similar to bases Eggman had built in the past.

"Wait… it IS one of old Eggheads bases. How could anyone have missed that giant moustache'd face icon he puts on every base he builds. Hmm…."

Sonic approached the entrance door and gave it a couple of knocks.

"Trick or treat! Anyone home?" Sonic called out.

The only answer he heard was dead silence.

"Hmm. Guess no one's home."

Sonic noticed an electronic keypad and lock next to the door. It still showed signs of power running the facility, which puzzled Sonic. Normally, Eggman would completely shutdown power to any base he abandoned, assuming it was destroyed. Sonic hit a couple of buttons, but nothing happened.

"Ugh. I'm no tech expert. I'll look for another way in."

After a couple of minutes of searching the surrounding area, Sonic gave up; there was no other way in, at least he could see. With no other options, Sonic activated his communicator.

"Hey, Tails. You read me?" said Sonc.

 **[ Believe in Myself (Tails' Theme) (Short No Vocals) – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00) **(No vocals? Yeah, right)**

After a moment of silence, he heard got a reply.

"Sonic, is that you?"

"The one and only, pal!"

"It's been months since we last spoke. Did you find Eggman? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"Nah, nothing like that."

Sonic paused for a second, focusing on the tone of his best friend's voice.

"You alright Tails? You sound like you just woke up."

"Well, it is two in the morning here in the Mystic Ruins, Sonic."

"The Mystic Ruins? I thought you were back at Capital City helping the others rebuild?"

"I was, but I decided tinkering with machines and tools would be better for the Resistance."

"If you say so Tails. Sorry I woke you. I'll call you again in a few hours if you'd like."

"Nah, it's cool, Sonic. So what's up. I doubt this is just a social call."

"Right you are. I was blasting through a forest-"

"When you scooped up some field mice, bopped them on the head, and got turned into a goon by a fairy?"

Sonic couldn't help but smile as Tails chuckled to his own joke.

"Nah, that's wishful thinking buddy. No, I actually found one of Eggman's old secret bases. It appears to be abandoned."

"Were you able to take a look around?"

"Around the base, yes. Inside, no. There's still power generating somewhere and there's this electronic lock keeping me out. I figured since you're the tech expert, I was wondering if you could head on over and help me into the base."

"Why would you want to enter an old Eggman base?"

"There could be some intel as to where Eggman could be!"

"Sonic, you do realize that Eggman woud never leave intel like that just lying around, especially in a base he probably hasn't used in years."

Sonic pondered this for a moment.

"Oh, yeah… good point."

"Sorry, Sonic, but I've got other things that take priority over your search. I want to help you out, but I have to help the Resistance first."

"But-"

"I'm sorry. Unless the base has something of use for the Resistance, I can't help you."

That gave Sonic an idea.

"Tails, that's it!"

"What's it?"

"What you just said! The base could hold something useful for the Resistance."

"… Um… I'm not sure I follow you…"

"Tails, there could be intel other than that regarding Eggman. We could look over old plans of his or blueprints of weapons!"

Tails was silent for a moment. "Go on, Sonic. I think I know where you're going with this."

Sonic smirked and said, "If we got our hands on that kind of intel, the Resistance could come up with countermeasures against those kinds of attacks! Even if the plans are old, we could still have some form of defense against another attack, whether it's Eggman, an alien invasion, or a god awoken from the core of the planet!"

"Sonic, that could actually benefit the Resistance!"

"Great! So, you gonna come over or…?"

"I can spare a few days for this, Sonic."

"Thanks, pal! I'll give you my location in-"

"No need to worry, Sonic. Your communicator has a GPS tracker inside. I've already got your location. I'll get going in the morning and I should be able to get there the morning after."

"That's great, Tails! Wait… by 'morning after' did you mean the morning at the Mystic Ruins, or where I am?"

"Where you are, Sonic."

"Okay, just making sure. See ya soon, buddy!"

Sonic turned off his communicator and took a look around. The night sky was clear and full of stars. He wasn't tired at the moment so Sonic took the opportunity to go for a late night run through the forest.

 **(Music fades)**

" _Might as well,"_ he thought to himself, _"Tails won't be here for another day, and standing still isn't an option to me."_

With that, the blue blur shot off into the forest, leaving behind a trail of dust and leaves flying in the air. He was completely unaware that the entire time he was talking with Tails, a pair of glowing red eyes where watching him. A couple seconds after Sonic ran off, the observer took off after him, making sure to not lose his target.

* * *

 _G.U.N. Headquarters_

 **[ Julien-K – This Machine – Instrumental ]** (Uploaded by Razor & Zenon) (0:00)

In his office, the Commander of the Guardian Units of Nations was reading over mission reports and signing them off. He had a nervous look on his face, occasionally shifting his eyes to the new orders given to him by the President of the United Federation.

" _Is this really for the safety of the world?"_ the Commander thought, _"The president sounded conflicted-"_

His office doors opened, and three individuals entered. The doors closed behind them and they waited in front of the Commander's desk for their orders.

But the Commander remained silent. He just stared at the group.

"Sir," asked the first member, "is there something wrong? We were ordered to meet you in your office immediately."

The Commander still remained silent.

"I have better things to do than just stand around like a mindless fool!" snapped the second member.

He was about to leave when the Commander finally spoke.

"I have received… new orders."

He went silent again for a moment.

"You three are to search and recover the Chaos Emeralds and bring them here immediately. Use any means necessary."

The first two members of the visitors gave each other questionable looks. The third remained emotionless as usual, not that he could show emotion.

"You want us to go out on a treasure hunt for the most powerful items known on the planet?" the first asked.

"Yes. Those are the President's direct orders to you three."

"Collectively, those Emeralds haven't been seen on Earth since the Dark Gaia crisis," the first continued.

"Yeah, thanks to Faker leaving them in the core of the planet!" the second remarked.

"That may be true, Shadow," said the first, "but you have one with you now, don't you?"

Shadow pulled out the emerald green jewel from his inventory.

"That was just dumb luck. Even with just this one emerald, we have enough power to protect the planet. Why bother looking for the remaining six?" Shadow questioned as he put the emerald away.

"So we have the utmost defense for the planet's safety," the Commander answered.

"I may have an affinity with jewels, but why look for the Chaos Emeralds now? This seems like something the President should have thought of over six years ago when the Black Arms invaded," the first asked.

"You have been given your orders, Agent Rouge," the Commander remarked, "and I suggest you follow them."

Shadow turned to the silent third member.

"Omega, what do you think?"

The robot just stood there, thinking, or processing, over the mission details and Rogue's question. A moment later, he answered.

"Data insufficient. Possible theories calculated."

"Hm. Well, we still have another problem," said Shadow.

"He's right," Rouge said, "we've attempted this search before and have come up with just that one emerald. Even with Omega's sensors and Knuckles' help, we weren't able to get any readings on the remaining Chaos Emeralds. How are we supposed to find them? I doubt two years will change anything."

"Well," said the Commander, "I guess you have only one other way of finding them: the old fashion way."

"You mean just run around random locations and hope for the best?" Rouge asked.

The Commander nodded.

"You're joking," said Shadow.

"No," the Commander said dryly.

"Is there any available data indicating possible Chaos Emerald locations?" Omega asked.

The Commander shook his head.

"Well then, where do we begin our search?" Rouge asked.

"That's up to you. You three have been to almost every corner of the planet, I'm sure you'll come up with a plan."

Silence filled the room for a moment.

"Any further questions?"

"Do we return them one by one or all together?" Rouge asked.

"That's up to the three of you. Any other questions?"

The members of Team Dark remained silent.

"Then begin your mission."

With that, Team Dark left the Commander's office.

"I hope the president is making the right call…" the Commander muttered.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _On the floating island of Angel Island_

 **[ Mystic Ruin – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

It was nearing dawn on Angel Island. The Master Emerald illuminated the alter around it in a soft green glow. Its guardian, Knuckles the Echidna, would usually be sleeping next to it at this time. But now, he was standing at the bottom of the alter. In recent months, Knuckles had been thinking about the events that have happened in the past year.

" _We almost lost Sonic to that freak, Infinite. And we were fighting a losing battle for six months. If it weren't for that rookie and the other Sonic, we wouldn't be here."_ Knuckles thought to himself.

Knuckles and the team have had many close calls in the past, but the Phantom Ruby brought it to a whole new level. This kept Knuckles up from time to time. He glanced over to the surface of Earth. He could see a faint, but familiar glow of lights in the distance.

" _It's been a while since I saw Station Square, even if it's only seeing it from here. Last time I was there was when Chaos went on a rampage. I wonder how things are now that-"_

 **(Music fades)**

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of wind rushing around him. Knuckles instinctively readied himself to protect the Master Emerald. But as quickly as the wind came, it stopped.

" _That's strange… the only time a gust of wind blows by is when a storm's brewing."_

And none was, as far as he could tell, looking at the sky. Knuckles looked around the alter, making sure no one was around. Although he saw no one, he had a feeling he wasn't alone. He closed his eyes and focused his senses on everything around him. Suddenly, he sensed some kind of presence moving… straight for the Master Emerald!

Knuckles dashed towards the Master Emerald as fast as possible. Just as the presence was about to touch the Emerald, Knuckles' namesake collided right into the presence's head. The intruder went flying across the alter and landed at the bottom of the steps. Knuckles jumped in front of the Emerald.

"Who are you?" he demanded.

 **[ Suitable Opponent [Vs. Character] – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

The intruder said nothing. Instead, it got up and turned towards Knuckles. The intruder was the height of the average human male and was wearing a greyish-black cloak. The only feature Knuckles could see was a pair of blood red glowing eyes.

Suddenly, the intruder charged towards Knuckles, and he did so too. Halfway between the stairs, the two collided. Fists were flying, punches were blocked or dodged, but neither one could land a blow on the other. Soon, the two were in a deadlock, their left hands holding back the other's right fist.

"Who are you and what doing here on my island?!" Knuckles questioned.

The intruder still remained silent. The two were straining against the other's immense strength. Knuckles then sidestepped to his left, freeing his right wrist. The sudden change in force caused the cloaked figure to fall forward. Still holding on to the intruder's right hand, Knuckles grabbed it with his free hand as well, and using the momentum of the intruder falling, Knuckles threw him face first into the stone steps. As soon, as the intruder hit the step, Knuckles turned them over and started pounding away at the intruder's body and face. But four punches in, Knuckles noticed something.

" _Their body… it's feels like metal… Is this a-"_

*WHAM*

The intruder managed to land a powerful uppercut against Knuckles' jaw, sending him flying into the air and landing on the ground near the alter. The force of the attack was enough to make Knuckles lose consciousness for a moment.

With the echidna down, the intruder turned its attention back to the Master Emerald. It slowly floated towards the Emerald, reaching its arms out for it. It grabbed ahold of the Emerald and began to fly away. It would have succeeded, if it weren't for one small detail…

"Where do you think you're going with **MY EMERALD**?!"

… they pissed off the wrong echidna. And they didn't notice him gliding quickly through the air with his Hammer Gloves placed on his hands.

Before the thief could react, Knuckles sent an armored left fist flying into the Master Emerald, shattering it into multiple fragments which then flew off into different directions, into the horizon.

As the intruder watched the Emerald break into pieces, Knuckles turned around and sent his right fist directly into the intruder's abdomen. His punch was so strong, Knuckles sent the intruder flying a couple hundred meters into the air. The intruder recovered and flew off into the distance. Knuckles glided back down on the alter as he watched the thief escape.

 **(Music fades)**

"Damn it…" Knuckles moaned as he slammed his fists through the air.

 **Yes, slammed through the air. You know, when you're shaking your fist in the air in anger then you slam it down through the air and they stop next to your hips? Oh, never mind…**

Knuckles looked around to make sure no one else was skulking around. Certain he was alone, he opened his left fist and looked at his palm. In his hand was a single fragment shard of the Master Emerald. Just as the Emerald broke into pieces, Knuckles managed to grab one of the fragments before it went flying off.

"Here we go again…" Knuckles sighed, "One down and a about 20 more to go…"

He took off his Hammer Gloves and put them and the fragment in his inventory.

" _Well, there's no use in complaining. Might as well get to searching for the pieces of the Emerald and restore it… again."_

Unlike the Chaos Incident, Knuckles had a temporary backup source in place, in case the Master Emerald was to ever be removed from its alter. Feeling Angel Island starting to vibrate, Knuckles pulled out a small remote and pushed a button. A couple seconds late, the shaking stopped.

Years ago, he asked Tails to help come up with a alternative energy source for Angel Island. Tails came up with the idea of using a large supply of Chaos Drives in the Emerald's place. After some testing, Knuckles and Tails put together a few energy relay stations around Angel Island, each one powered by a couple of Chaos Drives. While not a perfect alternative, it has the capacity to keep Angel Island floating for about six to eight months before the Drives need replacing. On top of that, Tails explained to Knuckles that there could be long term effects that even he couldn't predict. More the reason for Knuckles to restore the Master Emerald as soon as possible.

Knuckles glanced into the horizon again and noticed another familiar sight in the distance.

"The Mystic Ruins!" exclaimed Knuckles, "Tails' workshop is still there. If he's home, I could ask for some help locating the Master Emerald shards."

With his destination set, Knuckles leapt into the air and glided away from his home.

* * *

 _Midnight in Blue Moon Village_

Two Mobians walked around in the dark streets of Blue Moon Village, playfully arguing with each other.

"I'm telling you, that machine was rigged! I should have won those 25 thousand rings, plain and simple!"

"Say what you want, buddy. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

 **[ Undertale OST – Dogsong Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

"Stop laughing! I still kicked your ass at the poker table. That reminds me, thanks for the 500 rings you lost to me."

"Oh, yeah? Well I didn't lose 2000 rings playing slots and pinball. Seriously, pinball? How in the name of Chaos did you manage THAT?!"

"First of all, shut up. Second, I only spent 100 rings on pinball. Third… why does a casino, let alone Casinopolis?"

"Your guess is as good as mine, old friend. But I'm telling you now, I'm sure as heck ain't telling Vector where our rings went."

"Well, I'm not telling him."

They were silent for a moment.

"Well, in that case… if he doesn't ask, we don't have to tell him, right?"

"Right… yeah, okay. We'll go with that plan."

"Alright, then. Problem solved…. Seriously though, pinball?"

"Let it go, dude."

"Fine. You know, our little trip to Casinopolis put an eight hour delay with our surprise visit to see Siris, ya know."

"Yeah, that's definitely on both of us."

"Fair enough."

 **(Music fades)**

"Hey…"

"Yeah?"

"You remember the rumors, right?"

"About what?"

"About Siris."

"What about him?"

"The rumors about what happened over two years ago… you know, how he kinda… went crazy?"

"Oh, THAT rumor. Yeah, I remember it, but I don't believe it's true. Why?"

"It's just that, I did a little digging outside of work… and it seems that Siris' relationship with… her… was more than just being friends."

"And? Even if it was more than that, why would that matter?"

"Well… the thing is… there was this one report where it claimed Siris had brutally-"

"Stop. You and I both know where this is going. He would never do such a thing. And I prefer to hear the truth from Siris himself."

"Yeah, but-"

"No 'buts'. Remember the last time we tried to ask him about it?"

"Too well."

"Exactly. But even he has a side to the story. We have no right to… how should I say this… 'interrogate' him. We're not cops. If he wants to tell us, that's up to him."

"Yeah… I guess you're right. Besides, he's our friend and we should give him a chance when he's ready to tell us. Even if he never does, we won't judge him!"

"Right on… Look, I know you're curious, but we don't have all the facts. All we know is that Siris saw or did something two years ago and she vanished. How and why, only he knows. But when he's ready, we'll be there to support him."

His companion nodded and the two continued walking for a while, then took a short break.

"You know, it's really late. I don't mind waiting in front of his clinic, but maybe we should crash at the hotel for the rest of the night."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'm still jetlagged. You still got rings on you?"

"Wait… how many rings did you lose? Did you really spend 100 on pinball, or-"

"Oh, shut up. Stop laughing. I'm asking just to be sure."

"Alright, alright. GImme a second to count."

As he counted his rings, his partner was looking towards the distance, around the forest.

"I got about 4000 rings, so… What's up? You look puzzled."

"I thought… it might have been my imagination, but I could have sworn I saw a flash of blue streaking through the forest a second ago."

"… Yeah, okay. What about it?"

"It looked… familiar."

"It's late, bud. Maybe it was your imagination. Let's head for hotel. I'm exhausted."

"Yeah. Okay, let's go."

* * *

 _*** October 11, 2020 ***_

 _Mystic Ruins: Tails' Workshop_

"Man, Sonic sure knows how to ruin one's sleep," yawned the yellow kitsune.

After talking to Sonic a few hours ago, Tails planned on getting up at 8 AM, prep the Tornado, and take off for Blue Moon Village before 9:30. Tails just woke up and it was 10 AM.

"Hope the weather won't be an issue. Forecasts predict some heavy winds on the route I'm taking."

Tails originally planned on using the Tornado 1, but a damaged propeller put the aircraft out of commission until he either ordered a new one, costing up to 3000 rings, or repair it, which would take a whole day. The Tornado could fly in attack mode, if Tails actually made the landing gear compatible… which he didn't.

So, instead of wasting time with the Tornado 1, Tails decided to prep the Tornado 2 instead. It's been a while since either Tails or Sonic took her out for a spin. Sure, she needed some updates to her systems and a couple of bolts tightened, but those concerns were nothing to Miles 'Tails' Prower.

Tails was just linking his Miles Electric device to the Tornado 2's computer system when he heard a knock on his door.

"Be there in one second!" Tails called out, "I wonder who it could be."

Tails wiped his face and hands off with a nearby cloth, trying to get the grease and oil out of his fur, before heading to the door. When he opened it, he was in for a surprise.

"Knuckles! What are you doing here?" Tails exclaimed.

 **[ Unknown from M.E. (Knuckles' Theme) (Short No Vocals) - Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

There, standing in front of Tails was Knuckles the Echidna. The two friends bumped fists.

"It's been a while, Tails," the echidna said.

Tails let his friend in, closing the door behind them. Tails went back to prepping the Tornado 2, ready to ask Knuckles an endless list of questions. But as much as he wanted to catch up, Knuckles wasted no time.

"I know it's a nice surprise to see me here, but I have a favor to ask."

"A favor? What's up, Knuckles? And where's the Master Emerald? Aren't you…"

Knuckles took out the one fragment he had and showed it to Tails.

"See for yourself."

Tails stopped tinkering with the plane and looked at the object Knuckles revealed. The moment Tails saw the shard, he dropped his wrench to the ground.

"Not again… What happened? Was it Rouge? Did Chaos return?"

"Whoa, calm down, Tails. Chaos isn't around anymore, remember? And Rouge doesn't try to steal the Emerald anymore… at least… I don't think she does…"

Knuckles tilted his head and gave a pondering look.

 _Ten seconds later…_

"Any ways, no, that' not what happened."

"Well, what happened then?"

"Some cloaked… thing… came onto my island and tried to steal the Master Emerald. I managed to stop it from getting away with it, but only because I shattered the Emerald myself."

"I'm sorry to hear that Knuckles. I haven't seen any shards, in case you were going to ask. I was getting ready to leave and meet up with Sonic before-"

"Wait, you talked to Sonic? When?"

"Late last night. He claims to have found an old abandoned base that Eggman built. He also said there might be intel worth finding for the Resistance."

"He could be right. You never know what information Eggman could have left behind."

"Yeah. That's why I'm heading off in a few minutes. I'd like to help you, Knuckles, but I can't help you and Sonic at the same time."

"Actually, I think you can."

"Huh? What do you mean Knuckles?"

"Well, from what I've learned from the previous times the Master Emerald was shattered, the pieces have scattered to almost every part of the world. I can only sense items when I'm within a certain range of them."

"Sure. We all know that. But-"

"What I'm saying is, I could accompany you on your journey to help Sonic. Regardless of how fast you fly the Tornado 1, I'll be able to sense the Emerald fragments. If I happen to sense any during the flight, I'll take off and continue my search while you go help Sonic!"

"But, Knuckles… What if you don't sense anything by the time we reach Sonic? You could help us for a few hours before going off on your search."

"Hm… I haven't really thought about that. I wasn't aware about Sonic until now…"

Knuckles thought about it.

"Tails, why don't you finish prepping the Tornado 1 while I think about it."

Tails nodded and picked his wrench back up.

 _20 minutes later…_

"Okay, Knuckles, she's ready to fly!"

"Nice to hear her purr again. It's been a long time since I even got to get ride from her, too!"

Tails, who was already in the pilot's seat, reached his right hand out to pull Knuckles aboard. Knuckles positioned himself on the back, where Sonic usually sits.

"Hey, Tails!" Knuckles yelled over the engine.

"What's up?!"

"I decided to take you up on your offer! Unless I sense the Emerald at all during the flight, I'll help you and Sonic out for a day!"

"Alright, Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed.

He was excited.

" _Looks like we're getting the band back together,"_ they both thought.

Tails punched the throttle and the two were soon airborne, heading off to Blue Moon Village.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Siris' Home_

Siris was laying in bed, staring at the ceiling. During the night, he had another nightmare and it woke him up at 4 AM. Since then, Siris just stared at the ceiling and wondered what he was going to do later that day. It was Sunday, which meant the clinic was closed for the day, unless there was a medical emergency. Siris turned to the clock and saw it was now 6:30 AM.

" _I could stay in bed today,"_ he thought.

But after a couple of minutes, he decided to get up and took a shower. While he was drying off, Siris noticed that one of his gloves had a small hole in it. Unfortunately, that glove was one of his only pair of white gloves he had. He had another pair, but they were black and Siris didn't like to wear them during work hours, as he assumed it would make the patients feel uncomfortable.

" _Well, I'm gonna regret this within the next two days. Maybe I'll find another pair if I decide to go shopping today."_

Instead of replacing them, Siris decided to wear the torn glove and its pair. The tear wasn't too noticeable, but it was of concern because it looked as though the glove could fall apart soon.

Siris put his shoes and gloves on and walked into the kitchen. On his days off, Siris would drink tea instead of hot chocolate. He carried his tea over to his desk, opened one of the cabinets, and pulled out a device he was working on during his free time. As he reached down to grab his tools, Siris heard a soft knock from the front door.

" _Who could it be? I didn't plan to meet with anyone today."_

Siris put his project away and got up to answer the door. When he opened it, Siris was taken aback.

"Greetings, doc. Remember me?"

Standing there was a purple Mobian weasel. He was wearing a big brown Stetson hat, brown boots with white gaiters, brown gloves with metal plates, and a brown belt with a gold buckle. Siris immediately recognized the individual standing in front of him.

"Fang the Sniper…"

"Yep. Ya got a good memory there, doc!"

 **[ Custom Themes: Fang the Sniper ]** (Uploaded by Purple Jester) (0:00)

Siris was not flattered to be visited by a criminal.

"Last time I was here, you saved my life when I collapsed in the outskirts of town. Even though you knew involving yourself would bring nothing but trouble… I wonder it's just in a doctor's nature."

About six months ago, while taking a stroll through the forest, Siris found Fang unconscious on the ground. He knew Fang was a well-known criminal, but Siris' good nature got the best of him and he carried the weasel back to his clinic to treat him.

"Yeah, and the next morning, you were gone. Didn't even wait for me to check on you. Or, more likely, Fang, you just wanted to avoid paying a fee."

"I apologize that I left at the time without thanking you properly. And please, call me Nack."

Fang held out an open hand.

"Nack the Weasel," he smirked.

Siris didn't bother to shake his hand and kept glaring at Fang. After taking the hint, Fang dropped his hand.

"Aw, come on, doc! I know I have a history of allegedly illegal activities, but trust me; I'm as clean as a whistle now!"

Siris kept on glaring.

"Right. Well anyways, I was just passing through and I thought I'd come over to give you my thanks."

Siris was suspicious of Fang, but he was curious as to why he was here.

"I don't mean to take too much of your time. For now, accept this."

Fang handed Siris a cylindrical item box with a ring symbol.

"At the time, I had nothing on me, so I couldn't even pay for my treatments."

" _Funny, hearing that from a self-proclaimed 'treasure hunter' and thief."_ Siris thought as he grabbed the item box.

When Siris opened the item box and looked inside, his eyes widened. Inside were countless rings. **(Assume that item boxes are like Mary Poppins' bag. Seriously, how else would they carry all those rings?)** Just by looking at it, he could tell that this was much more than enough to pay for just treatment fees. Siris looked up at Fang with a questionable look.

"This is a lot of rings; more than enough to pay for three times the fee from what I can see."

"My payment was… delayed until now, so please consider it as an apology. Please accept it."

Siris wasn't buying it. There was something else, more than just paying off old fees.

"What's the catch, Fang?"

"Hm… I suppose you already figured out that this is about more than just a late payment. There is one more thing I brought with me, but…"

"But, what?"

"It would be easier for me to show you… inside your home, if you would?"

"Very well," Siris sighed, giving the weasel entry into his home.

"Thanks, doc. Just let me get it from my trailer."

" _Trailer?"_ Siris thought.

"What exactly is it?"

"A gift."

Siris took a peek over the smirking weasel's shoulder and noticed that Fang's air bike was attached to a cargo trailer. The trailer wasn't as large as ones pulled by 18-wheelers, but it could carry a lot… of stolen goods, knowing Fang.

As Fang left to grab the item in question, Siris turned around and walked a couple of feet into the kitchen. There was a dinner table and four chairs around it. Siris pulled out one of the chairs and sat down, waiting for Fang. After taking another quick peek in the item box, Siris placed it on the table.

" _Great. He's probably giving me a stolen piece of artwork or a bottle of illegal substances. I should have just shut the door on-"_

"Get out here, you!" Siris heard Fang yell.

As Siris took another sip of tea, Fang began marching towards the entrance.

"Well, come on! Get in here!" Fang barked behind him.

Siris was confused; he looked up and asked, "What are you… yelling…"

He couldn't even finish his sentence before seeing his "gift" being dragged through his front door.

"This is my gift to you, doc." Fang smirked.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Abandoned Eggman Base_

As the sun rose in the horizon, the morning light broke through the heavily dense forest. Rays of sunshine landed on the sleeping face of Sonic the Hedgehog, waking him up. Sonic slowly opened his eyes, only to be blinded by the intense light. As he turned his body away from the light, he forgot that he slept high in the trees last night near the base's entrance and fell off.

"Whoooaaaaaoh!" he cried out.

*SLAM*

Even though that little scare gave him a burst of energy, it wasn't enough to make him react fast enough in midair, resulting in Sonic's face meeting the ground, 10 feet below.

"Ow," Sonic moaned as he pulled his head out of the ground, "Talk about a wakeup call."

He brushed himself off and checked to see if anything was out of place on his body. As he did so, his eyes brushed over his left wrist, where he wore a bracelet a friend gave him two years ago. Sonic smiled as he replayed the memory in his mind…

 _*** 2 Years Ago ***_

"Nnnoooooooooooaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh- Oooh!"

Sonic had landed, face first, into the earth.

"Ugh… Mmm… Nnnnnngggghhh- Uuaaah… owww…" he moaned as he pulled his head out of the ground and balanced his footing.

Sonic looked around, finding himself back in Apotos, where his world adventure with Chip began. And laying on the ground just left of his peripheral was the entity of rebirth himself after sealing himself… in the core…

"Huh?"

Sonic took a step towards his pal, but just as fast as Sonic took that step, Chip faded away; leaving behind his green bauble necklace. As Sonic picked it up, he heard Chip's voice in his head.

" _I'll never forget you. I'll be here by you, always. A part of the earth you tread."_

As the sun rose in the horizon, Sonic slipped the necklace onto his left wrist. Taking in the morning air, Sonic smiled into the distance; his final farewell to his partner; and took off along the coastline.

 _*** Present ***_

Sonic wiped a tear from his eye as the memory ended. Months ago, when it was the day he left in search for Eggman, Sonic was looking at all the memorabilia in Tails' Workshop that he had collected over his years of adventuring and world saving. The Crystal Ring from the Station Square Hotel, the Extreme Gear boards Tails built for him for the EX World Grand Prixes, the Magic Ring from his time in the Arabian Nights; which was now just an ordinary ring, as Sonic freed Shahra after the Erazor Djinn's defeat; stuff that Sonic had held on to as reminders of his past deeds and adventures. But the one thing on the wall that caught Sonic's attention the most that day was Chip's necklace. After Chip sealed himself in the planet with Dark Gaia, Sonic wore that necklace on his wrist for months. Eventually, some time before destroying Eggman's Interstellar Amusement Park, Sonic decided to put the gift on the wall. For some reason, Sonic felt like he should take the bracelet with him on his search for Eggman. He couldn't really understand it himself; he knew Chip was gone, deep in slumber for the next few million years, and it wasn't like he would be communicating with him either. But he figured if he was going on the searching, running around the world for an extended period of time, he might as well make Chip's promise a reality with his necklace around Sonic's wrist as a reminder for himself.

"It sure would be nice to see him again," Sonic sighed, "or, at least, hear his voice."

Sonic stared at his bracelet for another moment.

"Well… there's no point in sulking about the past. Time to focus on the here and now and the future!" Sonic told himself.

For good luck, Sonic gave the green gemstone on the bracelet a rub. As he did, Sonic thought the stone was slightly glowing. Upon closer inspection, the stone did look like it was glowing, but Sonic figured it was just the morning light reflecting off of it.

Taking a quick look around, Sonic decided it was a good time to go for a morning jog, if you could call running at sonic speeds jogging. Just as he was about to take off, the ground began to vibrate.

"Whooaa… what in the…?" Sonic cried out, trying to keep his balance.

The tremor lasted for a few seconds before the ground stopped moving.

"Huh…? What was that all about?"

Sonic cautiously waited in place for a moment.

"Guess it was just a small earthquake. Heh, for a moment there, I thought Eggman was gonna show up with some new convoluted invention to destroy me with."

Sonic took another look around before beginning his-

*SNAP*

"Hm?"

Sonic whipped his head in the direction the sound originated from. He darted his eyes around in the general location, but he couldn't see anything. As Sonic turned his head back forward, he gave a suspicious look over his shoulder before firing off into the forest. He was still unaware that the red eyed observer was still watching and following him.

* * *

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Title Screen – Alternative – Metroid: Other M Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Siris was at a lose for words. He was expecting Fang to bring him something that could be remotely considered as gift, but this was the last thing Siris thought was even possible.

"Uh…" was the only thing that came out of Siris' mouth.

Standing a couple of feet away was a young, pale, silver colored hedgehog. She had silver colored eyes, a simple dirty dress that could be considered as a rag from the looks of it, and a pair of, what appeared to be the remains of white gloves; they were old, dirty, and had holes everywhere.; and she was barefooted. The length of her quills reached down to the small of her back, her bangs were shoulder length, and a couple of quills in front were covering her a bit of her eyes. What disturbed Siris the most was her physical ailments; she was really thin, clearly malnourished, and had scars all over her; both sides her neck, her right shoulder, her lower left arm, her right wrist, her pinky and ring fingers on her right hand, a couple of places on her lower left leg, and the whole front of her left foot; they were all covered in scars where fur should have been. But the scar that caught Siris' attention was a lone scar the went down, over her right eye; like a drop of water went down from above her eye lid and went all the way down her cheek. She had bags under her eyes, and she had an emotionless expression on her face. Siris couldn't tell for sure, but judging from her height, which was roughly up the Siris' eye level, she was probably 15 or 16 years old.

"As I'm sure you are aware, a wealthy person died recently in an accident," Fang said, making Siris jump a little.

 **(Music fades)**

"Uh… huh? Oh, you must be referring to Charles Hemberg, the late owner of the Hemberg Estate, correct?" Siris asked, being as polite as possible.

Charles Hemberg was a Mobian rat, both literally and figuratively. He gained much fame for stimulating the local market and boosting the economy. He made his millions buying out small stores and turning them into successful manufacturing companies. He became such a big name, that he managed to get connections with many government officials around the world, including the President of the United Federation.

On the other hand, around Blue Moon Village and in other parts, he was known for his unsavory behavior. He was rude to anyone he thought was beneath him; which was pretty much everyone in town. He was known for his excessive drinking and harassing many women, both human and Mobian, both emotionally and physically, constant experiences with prostitutes **(Mobians only, sickos)** and destruction of property and goods. He was just a pain in the ass, to say the least. A couple of days ago, Charles was going for a morning drive when his car went off a bridge and caught fire. He was trapped inside and the flames engulfed him. Shockingly, when he died, not one person shed a tear. Though Siris did see Nephy dance a little jig in front of him when he told her the news, since she was occasionally harassed by Charles.

"Correct," Fang continued, "He didn't have any close relatives, so people claiming to be government officials, relatives, and friends came over and stole all of his assets. I have connections here and there, so I was able to get some of the leftovers, but I was also entrusted with a few… troublesome items."

" _Did he just… call this girl an 'item'?!"_ Siris thought, looking at the silver hedgehog.

Siris was really getting mad, but he kept his cool to the best of his ability.

"Yes, this one here is one of them. I am but a humble merchant now and my motto is 'Buy and Sell Anything!', so I was told to sell this off somehow."

Remember that cool Siris was keeping? He's losing it. You can tell by looking into his eyes; which were slightly flashing a blue color every couple of seconds.

"But," continued Fang, "when it come buying and selling people, it'd be find if the one in question could be of use for manual labor, but it's not easy finding a buyer for a brat like this. If I rush things, there is a possibility that I may… suffer some losses too."

Siris' eyes were clearly starting to glow a deep blue color. Fang didn't notice because he was busy pacing around the room and around the silver hedgehog.

"It's not like I need to break even on this one, so rather than doing something stupid, I thought of either disposing her or throwing her away, but…"

"But?" Siris asked with some irritation.

"Even I have some conscience and compassion. I want to avoid anything troublesome, but I didn't have anywhere I could hand this one off to."

Siris noticed the girl was looking down at the ground, her eyes filled with… failure? Disappointment? He couldn't tell.

"So, why here?" Siris asked.

"I was doing business in town, and then I remembered that you had saved my life once before. From what I can tell… it seems that you are still living by yourself. It may not be any of my business, but I thought that you may be feeling a bit lonely. It's a bit sudden, but would you take this one in?" Fang asked with a slight smirk.

" _What should I do? I don't know this girl. I can't take her in. What would people think if they saw me with her?!"_

Siris looked at the silver hedgehog. She was now looking into his eyes. She looked terrified, almost begging to be helped.

" _I… I don't know…"_

It felt like her eyes were staring into his soul.

"Yes."

Fang was a little surprised.

"I'm… sorry, could you repeat that?" Fang asked.

"I said 'yes'. I'll take her in."

Fang smiled an evil, creepy smile.

"Is that so? It'll help both me and the girl out. This girl is a slave without any relatives. You can have her help around the house. Or…"

Fang's smile got bigger and creepier.

"Or, what, exactly?" Siris asked.

"Or, if you have such preferences… you can treat her like your toy."

Siris' eyes burned a bright blue color.

"There is no one who would object. If you want to know more about her, you can ask her yourself."

Fang turned to Siris.

"Well, I suppose I'll take my leave then. Once again, thank you… very… much… doc…"

Fang now saw the burning aura coming from Siris' eyes and it scared him.

"I would say 'you're welcome', but I won't. In fact, I only have one thing to say to you."

"Wh-what would th-that b-be… d-doc?" Fang gulped.

Siris walked past him and help the door open.

"Get the hell out of my house. I never want to see you ever again." Siris threatened, pointing outside, "And you better hope I never see you again… because I might not be so charitable."

Fang nodded, understanding that he had overstayed his welcome. He hastily walked out, jumped on his bike, and took off towards town. Siris didn't close the door until he was sure he saw Fang disappear into the distance.

"Bastard," Siris muttered under his breath.

He turned around and looked at his new… guest? He wasn't even sure what to call her.

" _What have I just gotten myself into?"_

"Uh… hello," said Siris.

 **[ Undertale OST – Snowy Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

The girl was silent for a moment.

"N… Nice to meet you… My name is… Sylvie," she said in a soft voice.

" _Sylvie? That's… a really cute name."_

"Thank you very much for accepting me. I cannot do heavy labor, but I believe I can do any simple chores that you would ask of me," Sylvie continued.

"Chores? Oh, right, you're a... servant. You don't-"

"However, my previous master enjoyed hearing my… screams… the most."

Siris just stared at Sylvie for a few moments, his mind processing what he just heard.

" _Oh, God, no…"_

Sylvie was clearly nervous and scared.

"Please…" she asked, "treat me gently… Master…"

Siris' heart sank. **(So is mine. I'm assuming some of you know by now what the crossover game is now.)**

"Sylvie," Siris said, walking up to her, "I won't hurt you. I'm not that kind of person."

As soon as Siris was standing right in front of Sylvie, she slightly flinched back in fear. Siris raised his right hand above her head and Sylvie closed her eyes.

" _What's Master doing to me? Is he going to hurt me like the other?"_ Sylvie thought.

But instead of a painful strike, Sylvie felt a soft pat on the head.

"And, please…" Siris continued, "don't call me 'Master'. Call me 'Siris'."

Sylvie looked up at Siris.

"Master…" she said softly, "I am a slave… I have no right to address you by any other title."

Siris was about to argue, but after looking into Sylvie's eyes again, he decided to let her decide how she would address him. If that's what she wanted to do, Siris wouldn't stop her.

"So… Sylvie?"

"Yes, Master?"

" _If I get used to her calling me 'Master', I'm gonna kill myself."_

"Uh… would you like anything to eat or drink?"

Sylvie gave a slight look of confusion.

"Uh… I'm fine…"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Master."

" _She clearly looks hungry… but I can't just force her to eat. Maybe she'll eat later,"_ Siris thought.

" _Master… is offering food? No, don't listen to him! He'll just punish me if I eat or drink anything I'm not allowed to have,"_ Sylvie thought.

The two just stood there in silence for a moment.

"Well… if you say so, Sylvie. Um… I don't have much to do today, since it is a Sunday, and my clinic is closed for the day. You can-"

"Today's…. Sunday?"

"Yes, it's October 11th today."

"Oh…" Sylvie replied, with a slightly sad look in her eyes.

"Is there something wrong, Sylvie?"

Sylvie straightened her face.

"N-no! Nothing at all, Master. I was… just wondering, that's all."

Siris gave a confused look.

"Okay," he replied, "if you say so. Anyways, I'll be working on a little project today. I don't have much around here in terms of entertainment, but you're welcome to watch TV or any movies I have on DVD."

Siris pointed towards the living room, which had a wide screen TV, a black leather sofa, and a small bookcase (which the TV stood upon) with a couple of game consoles and a DVD player.

"I appreciate Master's offer," said Sylvie, "but I think I would be of more use if I were to do any chores around the house."

Siris sighed.

"There is no need for any chores to be done, at the moment. I suppose you could watch me work on my project," he said.

Siris walked over to his work desk; Sylvie followed close by. Siris sat down in his chair and pulled out the device he intended to work on earlier, along with his tools. Sylvie sat down, on her knees, on the ground to the right of Siris. He pulled out a pair of goggles and put them on. They were tinted, so Sylvie was unable to see Siris' eyes as he tinkered with his device. As time passed by, Sylvie remained silent, only occasionally glancing over to the device.

" _Master appears to be very good with electronics."_

The device appeared to be some sort of metal hat or a bowl. Siris was testing out different resistors and capacitors out, trying to get the voltage of each component correct in the circuit. It was a little past noon when Siris turned his head towards Sylvie.

"… Is something wrong?" she asked.

Her eyes met Siris' as he looked at her. Siris reached over and pat her on the head.

"… Um, what are you doing?" Sylvie asked, "Are you… patting my head?"

"Yeah. Is it okay?"

Sylvie looked confused.

"That's fine, but…"

She paused; Siris kept patting her head.

"… Is there any meaning in doing this?" she asked.

Siris stopped patting.

"I just thought it was a nice gesture," he replied.

Sylvie's face showed no particular reaction. Siris gave her a small smile before going back to working on his project. As he worked, instead of the device, he had other things on his mind.

"Sylvie, can I ask you something?"

"…What would you like, Master?"

"If you don't mind me asking… do they hurt?"

"Huh?"

"The… you know… uhhh…"

" _Great job, Siris. That'll help earn her trust."_

"These scars?" she replied, "They are from long ago… so they don't hurt much anymore."

"That's… good to hear," said Siris as he mentally put a gun to his head.

They remained silent for a moment.

"I'm sure you know, but I happen to be a doctor. Could I take a closer look at your hand?"

" _What the hell is wrong with me? She's gonna think I'm some kind of sicko."_

Sylvie hesitated, but she slowly showed him the scars on her right arm and hand. Upon closer inspection, Siris saw that the wounds didn't appear to be raw, so bandaging them wasn't necessary. He couldn't determine the cause of the burns, but most of the possibilities were more of a reason for Siris to pity Sylvie.

"I'm sorry these happened to you…" he said softly as Sylvie brought her arm back into her lap.

Sylvie remained silent and Siris went back to work.

" _I hope those scars were the result of an accident."_

Siris continued to tinker, but he kept on thinking about Sylvie. He had so many questions for her, but he restrained himself. She was in a new place, had no friends or family, and was scared of her new master.

" _Reminds me of someone I know,"_ he thought to himself.

 **(Music fades)**

Siris was so focused on his device and his thoughts, he didn't realize how much time had passed until he looked outside and saw the early evening light.

"Ah, I didn't realize how much time has passed," he said.

Siris looked over at Sylvie, who appeared to not have moved at all from her sitting position.

"I'll make dinner in a minute, Sylvie."

Siris took off his goggles and put them, his device, and tools away. He got up and walked towards the kitchen, Sylvie following behind.

"Sylvie, could you sit at the table while I get dinner prepared for us?"

Sylvie looked slightly surprised.

"… Dinner...? Is it fine for me to eat even though I haven't screamed?" she asked.

 **[ (3) Pure Snows – Kanon AIR Piano Arrange Album Re-Feel ]** (Uploaded by Uzlad) (0:00)

"… _What… What did she just say?"_ Siris thought as he turned his head towards her, _"Did she just say…"_

"Of course, you can have dinner, Sylvie," Siris told her with pity.

"Master is very compassionate. Thank you very much," she said and took a seat at the dinner table.

Siris looked in the fridge and cabinets to see what he could make for dinner. After consideration, he decided to make some spaghetti with tomato sauce with a small salad as a side. As he prepared the food, Siris kept thinking about what Sylvie said.

" _Screaming? Just what did Charles do to her? Everyone knew he was scum, but this… even I have a hard time believing it."_

A few minutes later, Siris brought two plates of spaghetti, two small plates of salads, and two cups of water to the table. He placed his meal across from Sylvie's. Siris sat down and said a small prayer. He was about to start eating, when Sylvie spoke.

"Uh… Master?"

Siris cringed. He really hated that title.

"Yes, Sylvie?"

"Um… is there a guest coming tonight?" she asked with a worried look in her eyes.

"Uh… huh?"

"Perhaps.. it would be best for me to hide somewhere…" she continued, looking around the vicinity.

" _Hide? Why would she… wait, does she think the food is not for her?"_

"Sylvie… this meal is for you," Siris said, trying not to choke on his words.

Sylvie looked down at her meal.

"… This is… my meal?"

"Of course! Why would you believe otherwise?"

" _Bad question, you idiot,"_ Siris thought to himself.

"My previous master… he would only give me bread and water. Am I… allowed to eat this?"

Siris was mentally kicking himself, but he was starting to really despise Charles more and more.

" _So that's why she looks so pale and malnourished. Was Charles really that sadistic to starve Sylvie this much?"_

"Sylvie, this meal is for you to eat. You will not be punished for eating this, nor will you ever be punished for eating or drinking anything."

Sylvie looked back and forth between her meal and Siris for a moment.

"… Then… Th-thank you for the meal."

Sylvie nervously picked up her fork and began awkwardly eating. Her expression was stiff, as if she didn't seem to enjoy the meal. Siris thought little of it and the two ate their meals.

 _15 minutes later..._

Siris and Sylvie have finished eating dinner.

"Thank you… for the the meal," said Sylvie.

Siris looked up and said, "You're welcome."

Sylvie looked troubled.

"Um… Master?" she asked.

"Hm?"

"… This… is the first time… I've eaten such a delicious meal. It is also the first time I've eaten until I was full."

Siris felt anger stirring inside again, but he was more glad that Sylvie had and enjoyed a full meal.

"… Thank you… very much."

Sylvie didn't appear to be lying, but she was clearly anxious. Siris figured she was feeling confused due to the drastic change in treatment up until now.

"You are more than welcome, Sylvie. If you ever feel hungry or thirsty, don't be scared to ask. I'll provide you with meals," Siris told her with a supportive smile.

Siris looked outside and saw it was getting late.

"Well, it's late. I think we should head off to bed," he said as he got up and took the empty dishes to the sink.

"Master?"

"Yes, Sylvie?"

"Where… should I sleep?"

Siris thought about that for a second.

"Follow me," he said.

The two walked down the hallway. At the end, Siris opened the door opposite to the one that led to his room. There wasn't much inside, but there was a bed, a window, a desk, and a drawer inside.

 **(Replay Pure Snows)**

"This room was meant for emergency patients, but I'll let it be your room from now on, Sylvie," Siris told her.

Sylvie stepped inside the room and looked around with curiosity.

"Is it fine for me to use this room? And… this bed? I'm fine with sleeping on the floor…" Sylvie said softly.

Remember that gun Siris mentally had to his own head? He now wished he had it pointed to Charles' head… if he was still alive.

"Sylvie," Siris replied, "This room is yours now. You are allowed to sleep on the bed. In fact, you may do as you wish in this room since it's yours now."

As he said that, Siris noticed a pen and one of his blank journals was on the desk nearby. That gave Siris an idea.

"And… you can use that journal over there in any way you see fit."

Sylvie looked up at Siris.

"… If that is the case… then I will gladly accept this room."

Siris smiled and gave her a pat on the head.

"That door leads to the bathroom. You can use either the bathtub or the shower to bathe, which ever you prefer. You may also use my shampoo and soap. If you'd like-"

"… Um… Master?"

"Yes?"

"I… What will happen to me from now on? Will I… Will I have painful and terrible things done to me?"

She seemed to think there was an ulterior motive behind the way she's been treated.

"Never, Sylvie," Siris replied, lightly ruffling the fur on top of her head.

"R-really? I don't mind having painful things done to me if it please you, Master. My previous master really enjoyed hearing me scream in pain… I will do anything I can do to help. I'm fine with… just small meals."

Every word struck Siris' heart like a thousand knife stabs. He wanted so badly to give the girl a hug, but he knew she wouldn't understand its meaning. Instead he gave her another couple of pats on her head.

"So please… have mercy," Sylvie said, looking down.

"Sylvie…" Siris said, but he couldn't find the words to help comfort her.

"Ah… I-I'm very sorry…" she said.

Siris removed his hand from her head. The two just stood there in silence for a minute.

"Well, good night, Sylvie. Sweet dreams."

"Um… Good night, Master."

Siris walked out and closed the door behind him. He stood at the door and pondered over the day's events.

" _What have I gotten myself into? Taking in a slave? One who's been traumatized by God knows what kind of awful treatment. And how long has she been like this?"_

Tears were forming in his eyes.

" _Well… if she thinks she's a slave now, she's wrong. I'll prove to her that she's no longer a slave… I suppose she could do some chores around the house. I'd hate for her to feel useless. That would probably make her anxious. I wonder…"_

"Ah, it's late. I should get some sleep."

Siris walked into his room and went to bed, wondering what the future would bring. If only he knew that he was about to embark on the most emotional adventure of his life.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Blue Moon Hotel_

"I can't believe we slept in the entire day! We were supposed to go to Srirs' and hang out!"

"Well… we still can. We'll just do it tomorrow."

"It'll be Monday, then. I don't think he'll appreciate us just dropping by as a surprise visit on a work day."

"So, you'd rather go back to Station Square? This will be a wasted trip, then!"

"… Yeah, you're right. I'm sure he'll be glad to see us regardless!"

"Yep… only, now that we've slept all day, what should we do now?"

"I dunno… explore the forest for the night?"

"Sounds like a plan. It's almost midnight anyways, so we'll have about six or seven hours to kill."

"Well, lead the way!"

* * *

 **Me: Well? What do you think so far?**

 **Knuckles: YOU SAID YOU WOULD REVEAL 'WISPS' REAL NAME!**

 **Me: Yeah… yeah, I did. Look, I was gonna make this chapter longer, but I decided not to. I needed more setup for the whole story. Technically, this was suppose to be Chapter 1, but FFN doesn't have a dedicated Prologue or Epilogue chapter. So, I have to make do.**

 **Sonic Team: Meaning?**

 **Me: It means I had a lot to cover. Look, at least this chapter was longer than Chapter 1! Story-wise, of course. But don't worry, the next chapter will absolutely, 100%, honest to God and Chaos, will have 'Wisps' and his real name revealed. *Ahem***

 **Sonic: What was that?**

 **Me: Nothing. Just clearing my throat.**

 **Tails: You're lying.**

 **Me: Guys, guys… come on, let's not do anything rash… guys…? Oh, shit. *Runs out***

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **A bit of trivia for you guys; this chapter was originally going to be at least twice as long as what was given, but I decided to split it into two. I wanted some more action for the build up for the start of the adventure, but I needed more planning and rewriting. What? I actually have notes written down.**

 **Don't worry, the next chapter will definitely have a lot more action, and it will be as good (if not better) than the Knuckles fight. As I'm writing this story, I'm starting to fear that I might have bitten off more than I can chew with the number of characters I planned on using in the story. I think some of them will end up as minor characters with only one or two appearances (I.e. the Babylon Rogues; they're on the list, of course they'll show up), but I'm not sure yet.**

 **I'm sure some of you will be critical on how I describe the characters, like Sylvie and Nephy. I'm trying to be as descriptive as possible, so bear with me when I do this for one or two more characters. I have some sketches of Siris and Sylvie done, but I don't know if it's worth posting… I'll think about it. IF you guys want 'em, sure.**

 **Anyways, hope you liked this chapter, I'm sure some of you know what the other game is that I'm weaving into the story. Don't worry, I have plans on how to weave both THAT story and this one together. Maybe it'll work, maybe it won't. But we'll see. I'm not gonna say what that game is, yet.**

 **You can suggest music tracks if you want, I doubt I'll actually use them, but you never know; but don't ask me to use your OCs, I've got enough characters to worry about.**

 **One last piece of business, I decided to re-rate the story T. I'm sure that will bite me in the ass later, due to certain events. I'm not sure yet. But if need be I will re-re-rate (God, that looks like shit) the story M if need be… BUT NO LEMONS! … Explicitly, that is…**

 **Again, I own nothing but my OC characters. All rights and characters belong to their rightful owners. Same goes with all the music and videos.**

 **Please review!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	3. Chapter 3: Surprise Renunions

**Knuckles: Hey, where'd he go?**

 **Sonic: Who? The author?**

 **Knuckles: Yeah! What's his name again? *Looks at author's name on FFN* ThePhantomHedgehog? What kind of stupid name is that?**

 **Me: *Walking in* It's my stupid name, Knuckles. In case you haven't noticed, it's not like FFN authors actually use their real names.**

 **Tails: Where were you?**

 **Me: Sleeping off the headache you guys gave me last chapter.**

 **Sonic: Well, now that you're here…**

 **Me: *sigh* You really want another chapter? Now?**

 **Team Sonic: Yup!**

 **Me: Fine… I mean, as stated before, I have most of it already written down, so might as well continue forward. *Cracks fingers and sits down at his computer* Time to get back to it!**

 **Tails: Uh, aren't you forgetting something?**

 **Me: What, my fly open? I'm a Mobian, since when do male Mobians where pants…? Actually, don't answer.**

 **Tails: The disclaimer?**

 **Me: Oh! Right! I own Siris the Hedgehog and 'Wisps'. All other characters, both original and reimagined, belong to their rightful owners. As do all videos and songs. Enjoy! Oh, and… holy crap is this a long one. I'm giving you guys too much, but I promised more action.**

 ***Update (11/10/18): A couple of spelling and grammatical errors fixed.***

 ***Update (1/2/19): Some more errors fixed. Also fixed Amy's age to be 17, like I had originally planned. She's not 18... yet.**

 ***Update (1/9/19): Removed A/N in intro.**

Chapter 3: Surprise Reunions

 _*** October 12, 2020 ***_

 _A couple of miles from the abandoned base_

It was early dawn. Sonic the Hedgehog was racing through the forest, back towards the old abandoned base he found a couple of days ago.

"I still can't believe it!" he exclaimed to himself, "After all this time… Maybe Tails can figure out what's going on when I tell him about it."

As soon as he reached the clearing, Sonic stopped; mere inches from the abandoned base's locked entrance. He was tired, not paying attention to the amount of time that passed by as he ran during the night. His two-hour jog ended up being a six-hour run. But, what would you have expected from a guy who loves to run at Mach speeds. The dust around him cleared and the nightly sounds surrounded him. But something felt… off.

"Well...? You've been following for the past couple of days; why don't you come out and show yourself!" Sonic called out over his shoulder, into the darkness.

There was no response.

"Look, I might not be the smartest hedgehog in the world, but I know when someone is following me…"

Silence.

"… especially when the one following me happens to move as fast as me." Sonic smirked.

Out of the darkness, a few dozen feet away, two red eyes appeared, followed by a shadow figure.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it…?" Sonic asked as he turned to face the figure.

The figure started walking out of the shadows.

"… Metal Sonic."

 **[ Sonic Mania Adventures Remix – "Steel Plated Faker" for Theme of Metal Sonic ]** (Uploaded by Jahn Davis) (0:00)

Metal Sonic walked out into the clearing and powered up his jet engine. Sonic grinned at his metal doppelganger, readying himself for battle. The two stared into each other's eyes, filling the vicinity with tension. Within seconds, the two speedsters launched themselves forward. Due to Metal's instantaneous acceleration, he managed to cover more distance than Sonic before the two deflected off one another. The two disappeared into the forest. Silence filled the air for a moment, until two blue blurs returned and collided again; both returning into the forest. This happened again, and yet again. But as they rushed towards each other for a fifth time, if one were to slow down time, it would appear a though Sonic was smiling in the face of his long time enemy. Metal Sonic had his right hand raised and was planning on slashing Sonic. But as Metal attacked, Sonic suddenly rushed behind him. Before Metal could react, Sonic back kicked him across the side of his head, sending Metal Sonic flying towards the base doors. But Metal was just like Sonic; he could do everything Sonic could. With quick reflexes, Metal managed to land, feet first, against the door and boosted off after Sonic.

"Aw, give it up, Metal! We both know you'll never beat me!"

Undeterred, Metal caught up with Sonic. The two curled up and spin-dashed towards each other. Through the forest, the two pinballed off trees, hills, cliffsides, and one another. As the two fought, Metal saw an opening to strike; Sonic had just clipped Metal's left arm, but it didn't stun the robot. As Sonic ricocheted off Metal's arm, Metal was able to react fast enough and slash with his right hand. Just as his sharp fingers were about to make contact with Sonic's form, he was struck on the side of his head again. Flying back into the clearing, Metal wasn't aware that he was about to collide with the base's steel wall.

 ***CLANG!***

The impact was so strong, it left an impression on the thick metal walls. Metal Sonic fell to the ground but managed to stay on his feet. The left side of his head was damaged; slight cracks were visible and sparks were occasionally erupting. Sonic came back into the clearing and stopped a few meters away.

"Why are you here, Metal? Did Eggman send you? Where's he hiding?"

Metal's eyes darted from the ground to Sonic, giving him an angry glare, or what would one assume the robot was giving was one.

"Aw, still trying to kill me? Usually I'd be flattered, but this shtick's been going on for years!"

Metal Sonic did a quick scan of the hedgehog, trying to see if there was an anomaly. Metal was programmed to be as fast and responsive in both speed and reflexes as Sonic. So why was Sonic able to move a couple of feet within nanoseconds and attack him, off guard.

"Well, ready or not, here I come!" Sonic called out before boosting into Metal.

Metal deflected the attack with his arms, causing Sonic to dash back into the clearing. Turning on a dime, Sonic came rushing back into Metal, and the cycle repeated. As this went on, Metal kept scanning Sonic. Metal noted the increased speed Sonic appeared to be displaying through his attacks. His strikes were increasing in force as well. But that was impossible. There was no way Sonic was harnessing that much Chaos energy by himself, unless…

Unless…

Metal Sonic scanned Sonic again, only this time for any Chaos energy sources. The blows kept coming, but Metal was managing to hold them off. His scan finished; he now had all the information he needed to finish Sonic. As Sonic ran up to Metal for another strike, Metal flew into the air and over Sonic.

"Who-wwhhhoooaaaa!" Sonic cried out as he rebounded off the wall.

As Sonic flew into the air, Metal Sonic began to power up. His circuits began to overheat and sparks from his damaged head intensified. Sonic landed on the ground with ease and looked up. Metal Sonic was now surrounded by a growing energy field; the telltale signs that he was about to use his V. Maximum Overdrive Attack. But Sonic wasn't fazed.

"Heh! Two can play that game!" Sonic smirked and began to spin-dashing in place.

Sonic began charging up Chaos energy within him; blue orbs of light appeared around him and shot towards his spinning form. The two fighters were storing large amounts of energy. Within seconds, Sonic had a light blue aura glowing around him and Metal Sonic had a full energy shield ready for attack. Sonic stopped spinning and got into running position.

"Ready?!"

Metal Sonic looked down at Sonic, giving him a look that was filled with determination.

"Go!"

The two energized fighters launched towards each other. The force of the impact was so powerful, it created a shockwave that was felt all the way to Blue Moon Village. The only other thing that was sent into air was Metal Sonic's badly damaged body, which disappeared into the distance. Back at the base's entrance, the whole clearing was filled with dust. As it settled, the unconscious body of Sonic the Hedgehog was revealed; lying on the ground, covered in bruises and wounds.

 **(Music fades… or you can wait for it to end)**

Moments later, two individuals appeared on site.

"Hey," said the first, "isn't that…"

"It is!" replied the second.

"So, what we just heard was some kind of fight!"

"Now's not the time for that! Look! He's wounded and unconscious!"

The two ran up to Sonic's body.

"He's alive, but looks hurt bad."

"Pick him up. We'll bring him to Siris! He'll patch him up!"

With that, the two ran off towards Blue Moon Village, carrying the world-renowned hero in need of serious medical treatment.

* * *

 _Siris' Home_

Siris woke up with a start; his alarm clock went off.

"Is it really morning already?" he moaned, rubbing his eyes.

He looked at the clock. 6 AM… yup. He got out of bed and walked to the bathroom to get ready. He was about to open the door, when he remembered yesterday's events.

"Oh, yeah… I almost forgot about Sylvie," he told himself, "Hmm… I should be careful about entering the bathroom now. I'll have to get back into the habit of knocking before entering."

Siris gave the bathroom a door a couple of small knocks.

"Sylvie? Are you in there?"

No response. After waiting for another moment, Siris entered the bathroom and got ready.

"Guess she's still sleeping. I'll leave her be. Once breakfast is made, I'll wake her."

As he got ready, Siris took the time to think about his new guest.

" _Since she'll be living here from now on, guess I'll have to buy some essentials for her; toothbrush, bathrobe, her own shampoo and conditioner, clothes-"_

"Oh crap… I'm an idiot," Siris groaned as he facepalmed, "All she has is that ragged dress, in terms of any belongings, let alone clothes. That should have been the first thing I did yesterday when she was brought here. *Sigh* I guess I'll have to take her out to buy some clothes today… assuming there's no medical emergency that requires my attention."

Oh, if only he knew…

Siris finished getting ready and grabbed one of his white coats out of the closet. He put it on as he walked out of his room and down the hall. He was making his way to the kitchen, when…

"Good morning, Master."

Siris was startled so much, he actually jumped into the air. When he recollected himself, he looked to his left and saw Sylvie. She was standing just around the corner from the hallway.

"Uh, good morning, Sylvie."

" _Did she get up before me? If so, did she bathe?"_

Sylvie just stood there, her eyes just zoned out.

"Sylvie…?"

Her eyes turned towards Siris.

"Yes, Master? Is there something you wish for me to do?"

"Uh… no, nothing like that. I was just wondering… when did you get up?"

"Around 5 AM."

" _Uh… hmm. Must be her natural time to wake up, back when she was with Charles."_

"Well, that's a bit-"

"I didn't want to disturb your slumber, so I made a little noise as possible."

"Okaaaaayyy… but what were you doing up so early?"

"I was… cleaning," she replied, her voice had a hint of anxiety.

Siris noticed she had a rag in her hand and took a quick look around the living room. Everything was in its proper location, yet something was different. Upon closer inspection, Siris noticed that most of the living room was dusted off. In fact, many items looked as though they were brand new, albeit the miniscule scratches. Siris was quite surprised.

"You cleaned all of this?" he asked in awe.

"Uh… yes," replied Sylvie, "Does… does Master not approve of the quality of my job?"

"Sylvie, this is-"

Before Siris could finish complimenting her, Sylvie had dropped the dirty rag and was sitting on her knees.

"I'm sorry. I have failed you, haven't I?"

"Huh? Wait, no, that's not-"

"I should have done a perfect job, please have mercy."

Sylvie closed her eyes, as though she was expecting some form of punishment. Siris walked up to her and began to pat her on the head.

"Sylvie," said Siris, "you didn't have to do this. I'm very grateful that you did. And you did a phenomenal job."

"Huh?" said Sylvie as she opened her eyes and looked up to Siris, "R-really?"

"Really. And even if you did do a poor job, I would never punish you, let alone harm you," Siris told her, giving her a comforting smile.

Sylvie remained silent for a few seconds.

"I… Master is… so kind. I'm sorry that I didn't ask for your permission, Master. I just didn't want to be some useless slave to burden you with."

"Sylvie… you're no burden. It's really no trouble making an extra meal for someone."

Sylvie didn't seem to believe those words.

 **[ Somber Music | Weeping Willow | Beautiful Piano & Violin Music ]** (Uploaded by Soul Candle) (0:00)

"Um, Master? Is there anything I can do to help? As a slave, I can't stand by and watch as you work around the house all by yourself…"

Siris sighed and stopped patting her head.

"Sylvie? Do you really want to help around the house?"

Sylvie gave a couple of slow nods.

"Alright… I suppose I could allow you to dust the rooms and do the laundry… not that there actually ever is a lot of laundry to do at times," Siris chuckled, "But, if it makes you feel better, I'll let you do those chores. We can clean dishes together. Sound good?"

Sylvie was no longer showing signs of anxiety.

"Yes. I will do my very best."

Siris smiled.

"I'm sure you will."

His smiled then softened.

"Sylvie, I understand why you woke up so early… but did you bathe? Both the shower and the bathtub were dry when I went in there this morning."

"… I wasn't aware I was allowed to bathe. I haven't screamed or been beaten yet…" she replied in a timid voice.

" _God, I know better than to question you… but why must you create such inhumane cruelty?"_

"Sylive… just what kind of life were you living before coming here?"

Siris' voice was filled with concern and fear.

"When I was with my previous master?"

Siris nodded. Sylvie looked down and closed her eyes.

"I was whipped daily, amongst other things…"

" _One day, Lord… one day, we will meet… and you will give me answers."_

Siris knelt down next to Sylvie; she opened her eyes and looked into his.

"I don't have any relatives, so before I was taken in by my previous master I was in a facility until I was eight," she continued.

Her eyes began to water.

"I… lost my parents when I was six… a huge man with a big moustache ordered some robots to…"

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to talk about it," she said softly.

Siris was heartbroken. He reached up and pat her again on the head. She looked into his eyes again.

"I don't… really understand. Is this… fun?"

Siris sighed.

"It's a small gesture, Sylvie. It's not meant to harm you, just some… positive reinforcement."

Sylvie expressed some confusion.

"I still don't-"

Siris stopped patting and signaled her to stop talking.

"I get it; you have difficulty finding meaning behind these gestures I give you. It's not really something you need to understand. It's more like something that makes you feel good inside."

Sylvie showed no reaction.

"I understand that you might not trust me or my motives, Sylvie. You've been treated poorly for a long time and now everything's changed. I

Sylvie's eyes softened.

"… I don't feel anything…"

Siris put his hand on her shoulder.

"It'll take time, but I promise I'll teach you how to feel again."

 ***Cough Cough* Hint hint.**

"… If that is Master's wish…"

They stayed like this for a moment.

 **(Music fades)**

"In any case, Sylvie," Siris continued, "you hereby have my permission to bathe yourself whenever you want. I just realized a few minutes ago that I don't have any other clothes for you to wear, but I'll get you some in due time."

"Master… will allow me to bathe?"

Siris nodded as he got up and helped Sylvie up as well.

"There are plenty of towels in the bathroom closet, so don't be shy about using them. Why don't you go bathe now, while I make us some breakfast?"

"… Th-thank you very much," Sylvie said softly and she walked down the hallway, towards the bathroom.

As soon as she was out of sight, Siris let out a heavy sigh. Although she didn't say much, Sylvie's words struck his heart, deep. He was feeling a little better now, but his heart felt something else; something he hadn't felt in a long time. Was it…?

" _No. Don't think those kinds of thoughts. She's a just a kid. Get your mind out of the gutter, Siris!"_ he mentally scowled himself.

Pulling himself together, Siris grabbed the rag off the floor, walked into the kitchen, and began making breakfast.

 _10 minutes later…_

Siris was just placing the food on the table when Sylvie came walking down the hallway. Siris turned to her and smiled.

"Just in time; breakfast is ready. I made us some scrambled eggs, ham, and a couple of slices of toast."

Sylvie stared at the food with a look of uncertainty. Luckily, Siris was prepared for this kind of reaction.

"You can sit down here, Sylvie. This plate of food is yours."

Her face softened as she walked over to her seat. She sat down and nervously began eating.

"… Thank you… Master."

Siris slightly cringed when she called him that, but still smiled at her.

" _Hopefully we're making progress,"_ he thought to himself.

" _Siris… no, MASTER… he is very kind. But why? Does he plan on doing bad things to me? Does he wish to strip me of false hope?"_ Sylvie wondered.

The two pondered about the other while eating their breakfast.

* * *

 _Abandoned Eggmanland_

 **[ Eggman Land – Crimson Carnival Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Omega, do your sensors pick up anything?"

"Negative. Chaos energy levels are minimal."

"I told you this would be a waste of time coming here, Rouge."

Rouge turned her head and gave Shadow a frustrated stare.

"Well, at least we know now, don't we?!" she snapped, "We would have ended up searching this place eventually. Besides, this was the last place Sonic harnessed the power of all seven emeralds to transform into Super Sonic!"

Shadow slightly raised one of his brows.

"Really, this place?"

"… Okay, so there was that time when the Time Eater took us all into White Space, but that doesn't count! We don't even know if those emeralds we of our world or the other Sonic's."

Shadow sighed.

"This is a complete waste of time and resources," he said in a flat tone, "Even if the doctor was to return, why would we need the Chaos Emeralds? The two Sonics and that Rookie kid were able to defeat both Infinite and the doctor without any emeralds at all."

"And what if someone or something more powerful than all our past foes combined were to show up?" Rouge asked, "Even with just your one emerald, I doubt we'd have a chance in defeating them."

"Hmph. That'll be the day…" Shadow muttered.

Rouge sighed.

"You may be the immortal "Ultimate Life Form", but put to much faith in Sonic and yourself-"

"I don't have faith in anyone but this team," Shadow interrupted, "Especially not Faker."

"Might I bring up a proposal?" Omega asked other two members of Team Dark.

Shadow and Rouge decided to drop the argument and turned to their comrade.

"Alright, Omega. What's this idea of yours?" asked Shadow.

"Given our current situation and mission parameters, would it not be wise to have support in finding the remaining Chaos Emeralds?" the robot asked.

"The mission was clear, Omega," Shadow stated, "We are the only three G.U.N. operatives allowed on this mission. Support is not an option."

"Your assessment is correct, Shadow," Omega explained, "However, there are no limitations regarding support outside of G.U.N. and its members."

Rouge and Shadow caught on fast.

"You're thinking about asking Sonic and his friends for help, aren't you?" Rouge asked.

"Affirmative."

Rouge turned to Shadow, half expecting him to argue against it. Instead, Shadow kept a straight face, appearing to be unfazed.

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, Shadow. It's like you said, it would be a waste of time if we looked everywhere with just us. But, with other people, we can cover more ground in less time."

"… Very well. As long as they can stay out of our way and give us results, fast," he replied, "I assume you'll try Sonic first?"

Rouge gave Shadow a playful smile.

"Actually, I have someone different in mind, for now," she replied as she activated her wrist communicator. **(Sonic 06 style, it's there, we just can't see it.)**

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Chaotix Detective Agency_

 **[ Vs. Team Chaotix – Sonic Heroes Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Vector the Crocodile was sitting at his desk, bored out of his mind, listening to his favorite song **(wonder what that is…)** from the boombox nearby. It had been weeks since the Chaotix had a case, a real case, and the bills weren't getting any smaller. There were so many bills, that all it would take to pay them off was a big case involving sleuthing and investigating… or winning it big at Casinopolis.

"Ahh… this is so boring! I wish we had some big instersting case!" Vector exclaimed just as the front door opened and a large bee buzzed in.

"You're telling me, boss!" Charmy sighed, "All those low-grade cases put me to sleep. We're detectives and all we do is either look for lost pets, some rich person's valuable jewelry, or save some kid's balloon that got stuck in a tree."

"Those 'low-grade cases' are the only source of income we have!" Vector explained, "Now unless you want to try your luck in Casinopolis, I suggest you stop whining and be glad you're getting paid!"

Espio came in right behind his flying partner.

"He's right, Charmy. We should be grateful that Vector is able to pay us, even with the expenses."

Vector gave the chameleon a thumbs up.

"Thanks, Espio. I'm glad to have someone-"

"However," Espio continued, "we need to find a larger source of income. I fear we might not make ends meet and we might have to find new jobs."

He turned to Vector.

"It's like you said, Vector; we need a big case."

Vector shook his head and sighed.

"Easier said than done. It seems as though the moment Infinite and Eggman were defeated, the world's problems went away with them," he said.

Espio gave him a suspicious look.

"I meant problems that we used to be hired to fix. Stolen goods, counterfeit money, missing persons…" Vector listed off.

"Saving Eggman from that Neo Metal Sonic meanie!" Charmy smirked.

"Yeah, saving Eggman from Neo- HEY SHADDUP!" Vector roared at the laughing Charmy.

Espio placed two fingers on his right temple and sighed. He was about to leave his two coworkers to their feud when the phone rang. The ringing caught Vector by surprise, resulting in him losing his grip on Charmy's left foot and Charmy flying into the wall. Vector got himself organized and answered the phone.

"Team Chaotix Detective Agency! How can we help you!"

Espio and Charmy, who pulled his head off the wall, moved in closer to hear the call.

"Rouge? Long time, you old bat! What's with the surprise social call?"

"DID YOU CALL ME 'OLD'!?" Rouge screamed, which was heard clear as day to Espio and Charmy.

Vector threw the phone up in the air as he fell to the floor, anime style. Within milliseconds, he got himself back up and grabbed the phone.

"No, no, no! That's not what I meant, Rouge! I meant 'old' as in long-time friend, or-"

"SO, YOU ARE SAYING THAT I'M OLD?!"

Vector fell back over his seat, again flinging the phone in the air. Charmy was rolling on the floor with tears in his eyes from laughter, while Espio just shook his head at the sad situation in front of him.

"Rouge, I'm sor- I didn't mean it, I swear! Have mercy! I…" Vector pleaded as Rouge threatened to do terrible things to him.

Vector stopped talking when he heard Rouge's playful chuckle.

"Still the same as always, Vector," Rouge said playfully.

Vector sighed and facepalmed.

"Rouge, unless you have need of our services, leave us be. We're on our way towards a financial crisis and you want to pull pranks! If I didn't know better, I would say you and Charmy would get along perfectly together!"

"Hey!" Charmy exclaimed.

"Sorry. But I do need your help."

Vector was now happy.

"Really? Is that so?"

"Yes. We need your help finding-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on there, Rouge!"

Espio stared at Vector, knowing he was up to something.

"What are you doing, boss?"

Vector covered the phone and replied, "Making it pay day, boys."

He went back to talking with Rouge.

"This job of yours… is it boring?"

"No."

"Is it dangerous?"

"Maybe."

"Will we get paid?"

"That depends."

"On what, exactly?"

"How well you do your job."

"Alright… what's the job?"

"We need you to help find the Chaos Emeralds."

The three Chaotix members froze in place for a moment, with Vectors jaw hanging.

"Vector?" Rouge called out.

"Did… did you just say 'Chaos Emeralds'?"

"Yes."

"As in those powerful gems that hold ultimate power?"

"Yes…"

"Those same gems that Sonic said were trapped in the core of the planet itself and haven't been seen in two years? Those emeralds?"

"… no the Chaos Emeralds in my jewelry box. Of course, those emeralds!"

"Rouge… you do realize that no one has seen any of the Chaos Emeralds on Earth since Sonic defeated that Dark Gaia thing, right? What makes you think we'll find any-"

"We have one already, Vector."

"… Well, that changes things a little. I mean, where there's one, there are bound to be others. But, it'll take more than-"

"Would this convince you?"

On Vector's computer nearby, an icon appeared, indicating that an email had been received. It was from Rouge, subject titled "Payment". Vector immediately opened the email as Espio and Charmy gathered around him to see it. The second they saw it, Vector and Charmy had huge dollar signs appear in their eyes.

"Where should we start looking?" Vector asked Rouge.

 **(Music fades… uh, you can stop listening to the song now. Guys? Look I love listening to it also, but I have a story to tell… guys…? Team Chaotix… come along for… oh no…)**

 **(Some time later whenever you finish listening the music)**

* * *

 _Siris' Clinic_

"There. Dishes are clean," said Siris.

He and Sylvie had finished eating moments ago and cleaned the few dishes in the sink before opening the clinic. Sylvie returned to the living to finish cleaning.

"I'll be in the clinic next door, Sylvie," Siris told her, "If you need anything, just knock on the door that leads to the clinic and I'll see you as soon as possible."

Sylvie said nothing and responded with a nod.

Siris was about to enter his clinic when he turned back to Sylvie said one last thing to her.

"By the way, Sylvie? You don't have to push yourself so much while cleaning."

With that he walked inside and closed the door behind him, leaving Sylvie feeling… happy? Better? She wasn't sure, she just went back to dusting the bookcase.

"7 AM," Siris said as he looked at the clock on the wall.

He went to his desk and checked for the day's appointments. To his surprise, there were none. At least, for the moment. He was thankful that lived in such age where technology made life easier; appointments could be made either online or in person. He used to do it by phone, but that quickly died out. Siris only did that because he just moved in at the time.

"Ah, well. Gives me time to catch up on some paperwork."

He grabbed a small pile of papers that needed review and to be filed away. As a doctor, Siris knew it was important to have detailed and organized patient files. Unfortunately, with so many patients and files, the organization wasn't exactly perfect. Some files were not in proper alphabetical order or were misplaced with other files. It was times like these where Siris was able to actually have some brief time to get some things reorganized. Things were going smoothly the 20 or so minutes he was working, when there was unexpected pounding on the clinic's front door.

"This had better be an emergency…" Siris sighed.

He opened the front door and saw two Mobians carrying an unconscious blue hedgehog.

Meanwhile, Sylvie was almost done cleaning the living room and was about to start cleaning Siris' personal work area. Her cleaning rag was filthy, so Sylvie decided to grab another one.

" _Master didn't mind me using one rag, so maybe he won't mind me using another one. Cleaning with a dirty rag won't clean anything. And I want Master to be happy to be living in a clean home."_

Sylvie went to the closet where she found the first rag to grab another. As she opened the door, she heard loud knocks coming from next door followed by the sound of a door opening and Siris' voice. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but Sylvie could tell there was a sense of urgency in his voice.

" _What is going on?"_ Sylvie wondered.

She closed the closet door and went over to the door leading to the clinic.

" _If Master needs assistance, I should assist him."_

There were sounds of people entering a room and conversing. Her hand reached for the knob but stopped just before making contact.

" _No… Master did not give me permission to enter his clinic… even though he didn't forbid me from entering, it would be best to not give Master any reason to be angry with me…"_

She lowered her hand. Sylvie was about to go back to her cleaning duties, when she heard Siris' voice.

"-know you guys want to stay, but this is quite a serious matter. And I'm glad you guys are here and all, but now's not the time for catching up."

Sylvie then heard another voice.

"Well, when he wakes up, can you tell us? It's not everyday we get to see an old friend; let alone two!"

"Fair enough. I suppose you can see him later when he wakes up. I mean, it has been a long time since you guys have seen each other."

"Thanks, Siris. We'll be at the hotel in town! See ya! And take care of Sonic!"

The clinic door closed and Siris sighed. Sylvie turned around to get back to work.

" _Sonic? As in, Sonic the Hedgehog?"_ she wondered.

Sylvie shook her head to stop distracting herself and got back to work. A few minutes later, she was cleaning a small table near the door to the clinic, when Siris suddenly came in, startling Sylvie.

"Oh, sorry, Sylvie. I didn't mean to scare you," Siris said, "Uh… I guess you heard me talking to some people back there earlier, huh?"

Sylvie turned around, still feeling a bit jumpy from Siris' sudden return.

"I… I heard some of the conversation. Is someone hurt?"

"Yeah… I, uh… still find it hard to believe who it is, though."

"… Is it Sonic the Hedgehog?" Sylvie asked timidly.

Siris raised his brows.

"Yeah, actually it is. He appears to have been in a fight, but I patched him up. He's still unconscious, so I have to monitor his condition."

Sylvie seemed nervous.

"Will he… be okay?"

Siris smiled.

"He'll be fine. Just a little banged up. After a good long rest, I'm sure he'll be up and about in no time."

"Oh… good to hear."

Sylvie paused for a moment.

"Uh… Master, why are you not in the clinic?"

"Oh, thanks for reminding me, I was getting myself a bottle of water from the fridge," Siris replied, heading to get said bottle, "Would you like a bottle of water, Sylvie?"

Sylvie shook her head.

"No, I'm good, Master."

" _I hope no one hears her call me that…"_

"Alright, Sylvie. But if you ever want one, feel free to grab a bottle from the fridge."

Siris went back to the clinic and Sylvie went back to work.

* * *

 _High in the sky, near the abandoned Eggman base_

 **[ Believe in Myself (Tails' Theme) (Short No Vocals) – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Knuckles!" Tails called to the sleeping echidna.

"Mmmm… hm?" Knuckles groaned as he stirred from his slumber, "What is it, Tails?"

"We're almost at the base Sonic told me about! We'll be landing soon!"

Obviously, since Knuckles was still on the Tornado 2, you can presume that during their journey, he did not sense any of the other Master Emerald fragments.

Knuckles sat up in his seat and took a look down into the forest below. He noticed a clearing with a strange metallic texture near it.

"Tails, land there! I think that's where the base is!"

Tails looked to where Knuckles pointed.

"Good eye, Knuckles! Why don't you glide on down while I change the Tornado to hover mode!"

Although it's been a while since Tails flew the Tornado 2, he managed to make time to give her upgrades. One of those said upgrades was using the same hover mode used in his other plane, the Cyclone. Knuckles vaulted over the side and glided down toward the clearing as Tails landed the Tornado 2.

 **(Music fades)**

 _Moments later…_

"Hm… well it certainly looks like an old Eggman base," said Tails as he investigated the door.

"So that's one mystery solved," said Knuckles, "but where's Sonic? Didn't he tell you he would be here?"

Tails turned to Knuckles.

"Knowing Sonic, he's probably running around nearby. I'll call him on his communicator."

Tails pressed a couple of buttons on his wrist communicator.

"Sonic, you read me?"

Silence.

"Sonic, it's Tails. Can you hear me?"

More silence. Tails and Knuckles gave each other confused looks.

"Sonic? Sonic, answer me!"

Tails was starting to get worried. Sonic wouldn't ignore his calls. Unless…

"Sonic can't talk right now," a voice replied from the communicator.

* * *

 _Siris' Clinic_

 **[ Marvel's Spider-Man 2018 )ST – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ]** (Uploaded by gamingchannel546) (0:00) **(Loop if necessary)**

It was a couple of hours after Sonic was brought to Siris. He was covered with cuts and bruises, with a rather nasty black one on the top of his head, which concerned Siris the most. Siris was tending to the last of Sonic's wounds when Sonic's communicator went off.

" _ **Sonic, you read me?"**_

"Huh? Who's that?" Siris asked himself as he finished putting stitches in Sonic's lower right arm, which was the same arm the communicator was worn. **(Is it weird to wear your watch on your right hand if your right-handed? I dunno, never could wear one on my left.)**

" _ **Sonic, it's Tails. Can you hear me?"**_

"Tails? Ah, that must be Miles Prower, Sonic's friend."

" _ **Sonic? Sonic, answer me!"**_

"Better answer it and tell Tails what's going on."

Siris carefully lifted Sonic's arm up and pressed the "answer" button on the communicator.

"Sonic can't talk right now," he said into communicator.

" _ **Huh? Who are you? Where's Sonic?!"**_

"He's in good hands. My name is Siris. I'm the doctor of the town of Blue Moon Village."

" _ **What have you done to Sonic!?"**_

"Calm down, Tails. He was brought in by some old friends of his. They were exploring the nearby forest and they found him beaten and unconscious by... some kind of metal door, I think they described it?"

" _ **Unconscious? Beaten? What happened? Is he okay?"**_

"He's hurt, but he'll live. He's still out, though."

Tails was silent.

"Why don't you come by my clinic and you can see him for yourself?"

" _ **Really? Thank you, doctor!"**_

"Judging by the device Sonic has, I assume you can find me with that?"

" _ **Uh, yeah… how'd you know?"**_

"It literally has your name on it. Besides, I'm sure someone as technical as you would want to know where all your devices are at all times."

" _ **Lucky guess. And I've got your location. I'll be there in a couple of minutes, doctor! Thanks again!"**_

Siris ended the call and gently placed Sonic's arm down.

"Hm…" Siris pondered, "an old base… Sonic's attacked… Wonder what's up."

Siris looked at Sonic's unconscious body.

"Why are you here, Sonic? What did you find?"

 _10 minutes later…_

Siris was sitting at his clinic desk when he heard the sound of a jet engine outside. Seconds later, Tails and Knuckles came in.

"Uh… hello?" Tails asked nervously.

"Ah, Tails. Welcome! And you must be Knuckles," said Siris, as he got up and shook their hands.

"Where's Sonic?" Knuckles asked with a hint of rage.

"Right this way, follow me."

Siris walked them into the first door on the left down the hallway of patient rooms.

"Before we go in, I just want to say that I'm very impressed by how fast Sonic can heal. It's only been a couple of hours and already many of his minor cuts and bruises have gone away," Siris remarked.

He then opened the door to Sonic's room. Sonic was lying in a bed, resting peacefully. Aside from the couple of stitches he needed and the large black bruise on his head, he seemed fine. A little banged up here and there, but overall fine. Tails walked up to his resting brother and sat down in the chair nearby. Knuckles stood behind him.

"As far as his injuries go, he doesn't appear to have any broken bones or substantial injuries; however, judging by the bruise on his head, I wouldn't doubt the possibility of a concussion or head trauma," Siris explained.

Tails and Knuckles turned to Siris, showing worried looks on their faces.

"Oh, sorry. I unintentionally made that sound a bit over-exaggerated; if he does happen to have a concussion or some other kind of head trauma, it would only be a mild case."

The two friends relaxed.

"Besides… from what I've heard about this guy, pretty sure his head can take a few hits," Siris joked.

"You'd be surprised by how many, doctor," Knuckles said with a smirk.

"Anyways, I'll give you guys some time alone. I get the feeling you'd like to stay with him overnight, but I'm afraid I can't allow that. There is a hotel in town you can check into however. I will be out for lunch around noon, be back by 1 PM, and close the clinic around 5 PM. If you have any questions, just let me know," Siris explained.

"Thanks, doctor," said Tails.

"No worries, he'll be fine. And please, call me Siris."

"Okay then. Thank you again, Siris."

Siris left the room, closing the door behind him, and went back to his desk. It was only 9 AM, and patient appointments were made during the time he tended to Sonic.

"Hm…"

"What's wrong, Tails?" Knuckles asked.

"I don't know… it's just that… I feel like I've seen this guy before… a long time ago."

The day continued on in the clinic as Siris met with a dozen other patients; some with chronic ailments that required periodic checkups with Siris, and some involving flu shots, or the flu itself.

" _That reminds me,"_ Siris thought, _"I should give Sylvie a flu shot. Judging by her appearance and responses, I doubt Charles even bothered to consider giving her any medicine, let alone flu shots. I don't know her medical history, but I hope her parents vaccinated her."_

He checked the time on the clock. It was almost noon and Siris was getting hungry. He placed the "Out to Lunch" sign on the outside of the clinic door and went inside his house.

"Wow," he said.

The entire living room and kitchen were immaculate. Siris knew Sylvie would do a good job, just based on her morning cleaning, but this was unexpected. The door to the laundry room opened and Sylvie walked out. She stopped when she noticed Siris looking around.

"Welcome back, Master," Sylvie said with a soft voice.

"Thanks, Sylvie. Wow! You cleaned all this?"

"Um… yes. Did I do well?"

"Well? This is amazing! I can't remember the last time I've ever seen anything this clean before."

Siris walked over to Sylvie and gave her a couple of pats on the head. However, her reaction was no different; she just remained unmoved, not showing any signs of joy or pleasure…

 **Uh, not that kind, get your heads out of the gutter!**

"I think you've done enough cleaning for today. Judging from the sound of the washer and dryer, you just put a new load in the washer?"

"Yes, Master."

" _Someday she'll stop calling me that."_

"Since that's the case, and I see no laundry folded, why don't you take a break and have lunch with me?"

"Uh… if that's alright with you. What will you make?"

Siris thought for a second.

"Actually, I was thinking of getting food at the café in town."

"Oh… so you're going out then?" Sylvie asked with slight disappointment.

She turned her head a little towards the window. Looking at her face closely, Siris sensed the disappointment.

"Uh… well… actually, Sylvie…" Siris tried to explain, nervously.

"… Yes, what is it, Master?" Sylvie asked as she turned back to Siris.

"… errrr… I, uh… heh… umm…"

" _Why am I nervous? It's just lunch, it's not like I'm taking her out on a date or anything… I mean, I don't know how old she is, but… it's not like there's anything wrong with a guy taking a younger lady out to lunch."_

"Master?"

Siris got ahold of himself and told her what he meant.

"What I'm trying to say, Sylvie, is that I was wondering if you'd like to join me and have lunch at the café?"

Sylvie seemed a bit surprised.

"Am I… going as well?"

"Of course! I mean… if you want to. I won't force you or anything… I was just… being kind, is all. If you don't want to come, I could always bring you something from the cafe."

The two stood in silence for a moment.

"I… I will accompany you," Sylvie said.

"Uh… okay, sure. Yeah, great!" Siris exclaimed, "I'll just put my coat away real quick and we'll get going."

Siris walked into his bedroom and put his coat on a hanger and hung it up. His eyes darted towards a pair of dusty black shoes sitting in the corner, with a pair of black gloves lying on top. The shoes gave Siris a realization.

"I am pathetic… Sylvie doesn't have any shoes…"

Siris weighed his options and then grabbed the shoes. They were black sneakers, with gray socks **(assume that all Mobians that wear socks are wearing the kind that are crafted together with the shoes)** , and a bit of the tips of the shoes were a deep blue color. He quickly dusted them off and took his boring brown shoes off and put the black ones on.

"Well… it's been a while since I wore those. Still a perfect fit. I'll let Sylvie wear the brown ones for now, until I find time to get her new clothes and her own shoes."

Siris looked back in the closet and the gloves.

"Might as well where those gloves, too. Sylvie's are worse than these white ones I have now."

Siris came back to the entryway, where Sylvie sat and waited patiently on the floor.

"Here, Sylvie. You can wear these shoes. I have another pair, which you can see I'm wearing now, but they're still a little dirty. So I figured, you can have the clean pair," Siris explained as he knelt down next to Sylvie and handed her the shoes and gloves.

"I also had another pair of gloves. So, you can have these white ones, too. They have tiny holes, but they're in much better shape than the ones you have now. Also, not dirty, like my black gloves."

Sylvie was a bit surprised.

"Master… is giving me shoes… and gloves?"

"Yes, I am. And before you ask, yes, you can wear them."

"Master… is so kind. Thank you very much," she said as she put the gloves and shoes on.

"They might be a bit big, but this is only temporary. We'll go shopping in the next couple of days," Siris told her.

Sylvie stood up and walked around for a moment, getting a feel for the shoes.

"Oh, before we get going, I wanted to do something real fast," said Siris.

Sylvie appeared confused.

"Now, don't panic or anything, but I was wondering if you would be okay with getting a flu shot."

Sylvie's eyes widened.

"Uh… flu shot?"

"It's an injection shot. To help prevent you from catching the flu," Siris explained.

" _She's starting to panic, I can tell. I hope she'll go through with it."_

Sylvie just stared at him for a few seconds.

"If that is Master's wish… then I will accept it."

"Are you sure? You don't have to get the flu shot if you're not comfortable," Siris explained.

Sylvie shook her head.

"I'll be fine. If I do get sick, I can't work efficiently around the house."

"Okay. Let me grab the shot and a couple of things."

Siris hurried back into his clinic. A few seconds later he came back with a cotton swab that was dabbed with alcohol, the flu shot, and a band-aid.

"Can I see your shoulder, please?"

Sylvie turned a little, allowing Siris better access to her left shoulder.

"Don't worry, Sylvie," he told her as he rubbed the cotton swab on her shoulder, "you'll only feel a little pinch."

As Siris injected the needle into her skin, he noticed that Sylvie didn't even flinch. He pushed the plunger down and pulled the needle out. He then put the band-aid on the injection site.

"Alright, all done," he exclaimed, "If you feel sick at all during the rest of the day, let me know, okay?"

Sylvie nodded as Siris disposed of the syringe and cotton swab in the garbage bin specifically used for these kinds of wastes.

"Okay, ready?" Siris asked.

Sylvie nodded and together they walked to town.

 **(Music fades)**

 _A couple of minutes later…_

As Siris walked through town, Sylvie silently followed close behind. She seemed calm at first, but her eyes were darting left and right nervously, clearly indicating that she wasn't used to being in town. Siris thought about taking an alternate route, one that would be less stressful for Sylvie, but decided to continue on the same route he normally took. They were a couple of buildings away from the café when Siris noticed Sylvie had stopped for a moment.

"Sylvie? Is something wrong?"

"Ah… I'm sorry. It's nothing."

Siris was about to ask her if she was sure, but a sweet aroma tickled his nose.

"Oh, I get it. Was it that sweet smell just now?" Siris asked her.

"… yes," Sylvie replied timidly.

"That's coming from the café over there, where we'll be eating," Siris said with a smile.

Sylvie walked up to Siris and they went to the café. As soon as Siris opened the café door and allowed Sylvie inside, a familiar voice rang out.

"Welcome in~!"

"Here we go…" Siris said quietly to himself as a waitress came awkwardly flying over to us.

"For two, isn't that ri-… Oh, Siris, hello!"

"Hello, Nephy."

 **[ Undertale OST – sans. Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

"Well, well, isn't this a surprise? Who's this? A new friend?" Nephy asked with intrigue.

Siris looked over to Sylvie, who was shyly hiding behind Siris.

"You could say that."

Nephy reached a hand out towards Sylvie.

"Hi! I'm Nephy, your waitress at this fine establishment!"

Sylvie looked at Nephy with a mixture of fear and confusion in her face. After an awkward moment of silence, Siris gave Sylvie a bit of inspiration.

"It's alright, Sylvie. She's a friend of mine," he explained, "Just tell her your name."

Sylvie slowly moved to Siris' side and shook Nephy's hand.

"H-hello. My name is…. Sylvie."

" _It's a start… but we're making progress,"_ Siris mentally noted.

"What an adorable name~!" Nephy's voice rang.

"Uh…" Sylvie began.

"So, table for tow, right? Right this way, okay?" Nephy told them.

They followed her to one of the vacant tables. Siris politely helped Sylvie into her seat before taking his.

"So," Nephy said as she took out her ticket pad and took a pen from her ear, "what would you like for lunch?"

Siris flipped through the menu.

"I'll have a roast beef sandwich, with blue cheese, and on white bread, toasted," said Siris.

"Alright… and what about the young lady?"

Siris looked over at Sylvie. She hadn't even opened her menu; she was looking around the café with curiosity. Suddenly her eyes stop. Siris followed her gaze to the left and noticed she was looking at some pancakes a customer across the café had ordered. Siris turned back to Nephy.

"Sylvie will have some pancakes," he told her.

"Alrighty, then," Nephy said as she wrote down the order.

She then leaned in closer to Siris.

"What's with the scars?" she whispered to Siris.

His immediate response was deadpanning to a random direction… **which just so happens to be at you guys!**

"Seriously, Nephy? You're gonna ask me THAT? This is not the place or time?!" he remarked to her quietly, hoping Sylvie wasn't listening to their conversation.

Nephy backed away, hands up in defense.

"Sorry, sorry. My curiosity got the best of me… anyways, your food will be out in just a moment!" she said before heading to the kitchen.

Siris sighed and shook his head. He looked up and saw Sylvie was looking at him with confusion.

"Don't worry, it was nothing, Sylvie. Just Nephy being silly."

Sylvie nodded and went back to staring at the pancakes. After a while, the food arrived at the table.

"Here ya go, guys! One sandwich for the hardworking and handsome doctor…" Nephy chimed.

Siris rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Nephy," he said as his food was served.

"… and one pancake tower for the lucky young lady," Nephy smirked as she served Sylvie her meal.

 ***Record scratch* (Stop music)**

Siris' eyes grew as he snapped his head towards Nephy.

"Uh… wait, wha…?" he asked.

Nephy turned to face him, still smirking.

"Uh, no. No. Uh uh. No… no no no… i-it's not like that!" he stammered.

" _Please, God, shut her up."_

"Siris~," Nephy teased, "you're blushing~!"

She was right; Siris' cheeks were turning red.

" _God, why have you forsaken me?"_

"Nephy… please stop. And shoo. Don't you have other customers?"

"Eh," she shrugged, "I do, but I'm having too much fun with you!"

"Oh, yeah? Well, if you want a tip, I suggest you go tease someone else then, hm?"

"Fine," Nephy replied, rolling her eyes, "but this isn't over!"

With that, Nephy went back to work. Siris was about to give some kind of explanation to Sylvie, but noticed she was staring into the pancakes that were set in front of her.

"Sylvie?"

"Ah, this… is for me?"

"Yes, it is."

 **[ Kanon OST 5 2 Steps toward ]** (Uploaded by KyonxNagato) (0:00)

Sylvie appeared to be intrigued by the pancakes, almost as though this was her first time ever seeing them before.

"Sylvie, have you ever eaten a pancake before?"

"… Eh?" she replied, "No, I've never eaten this before."

" _Charles, you fat Nazi."_ **(You got a problem with a pancake Nazi? Didn't think so.)**

"Is it… okay for me to eat this?"

"Yes, it is. Dig in, Sylvie."

Sylvie stayed still for a moment.

"Then, thank you for the meal…"

Sylvie took her utensils and slowly cut into the pancakes. She nervously brought a piece up to her mouth and took a bite. The second the pancake slice went into her mouth, her expression changed to a slight surprise look.

"… Mmm. It's soft… and sweet."

Siris watched as Sylvie began eating her pancakes with vigor. She seemed to be enjoying her lunch. To his surprise, for the first time since he met her, Siris saw a small smile on Sylvie's face. He had a warm feeling rushing into his heart. Siris began eating his sandwich, hardly keeping his eyes off Sylvie's smile. A couple of minutes later, the two had finished their lunches.

"Mmm… thank you for the meal, it was very… delicious. Thank you very much," Sylvie said, her voice sounding livelier than usual.

"You're welcome, Sylvie."

Suddenly, maybe because she noticed herself, Sylvie went back to her usual expressionless self. Her eyes appeared to show shame, but Siris took little notice to them; he knew she was learning and that she was making progress.

"Ready to go home?" Siris asked.

"If that is your wish, Ma-" Sylvie replied.

"Please don't call me that in public," Siris interrupted, trying to sound as polite as possible, "I don't want people getting the wrong idea."

Sylvie appeared to understand and nodded.

"Alright, let's go home then. I'll quickly pay Nephy and we'll be on our way."

As though she was psychic, Nephy appeared next to Siris.

"Ah, all finished I see. Did you both enjoy your meals?"

"Yes, we did. Here's you go, 25 rings. And here are three as your tip."

"Thank you, Siris. Have a nice day, you two~!"

Nephy went to serve other customers as Siris and Sylvie got up and headed back home.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Siris' Clinic_

Tails was checking Sonic's wounds for the 20th time, by Knuckles' count. Knuckles was leaning against the wall, thinking about what he should do. He had his duty as guardian of the Master Emerald to search for the fragments and restore the Emerald; on the other hand, he had his best friend and rival badly hurt that might need his help. But there was something else on the echidna's mind.

"What did you mean when you said Siris looked familiar, Tails?"

Tails looked up from Sonic.

"Huh?"

"You said he looked familiar. Do you have any idea where you might have seen him before?"

"Uh… no. I've been thinking for the last couple of hours about that Knuckles. I don't remember or recognize him… but I swear, I get the feeling that I have seen him before…"

Knuckles could tell it was bothering Tails to no end. To be fair, this is how everyone acts when they try to remember.

"What about you Knuckles? You have that look whenever you're debating with yourself."

Knuckles closed his eyes and said nothing.

"Does it have to do with the Master Emerald and Sonic?"

" _That kid is too smart for anything to get past him,"_ Knuckles smiled to himself.

"Yeah," he replied, "as much as I want to help Sonic with… whatever it is he was planning, my duty to the Master Emerald must come first. I can't afford to waste time when that… thing… is still out there, probably searching for the shards as well."

Tails was nodding his head as he listened to his friend predicament.

"I don't think there's a wrong choice, Knuckles."

Knuckles looked up at Tails.

"We still don't know what happened to Sonic. But I don't think it was just a coincidence that you and Sonic were both attacked in such a short period of time."

"You think the two attacks are connected?"

"Mm hmm… I mean, it's just a theory, but it seems to be the likely case."

"If I'm understanding this right, Tails… staying here to help Sonic and find his attacker or leaving in search for the pieces of the Master Emerald; they both could lead to the one that attacked me?"

"Like I said, it's just a theory, but, yes, that's what I'm saying."

"Hmm…" Knuckles pondered, "I'll keep that in mind. We'll see what Sonic has to say when he wakes up."

Tails nodded and turned his attention back to Sonic.

"By the way… do you think it was a good idea to call?" asked Knuckles.

Before Tails could answer, the patient room door opened and Siris walked in.

* * *

 _Siris' House_

 **[ Undertale OST – Ruins Extended ]** (Etu Tran) (0:00)

When Siris and Sylvie got back home, she immediately went back to work. Siris went back to his room to grab his coat. As he was walking towards the clinic door, Sylvie asked if he wanted his brown shoes back. Siris declined and told her she could keep wearing them until they went shopping for clothes. She thanked him as he went into the clinic and began dusting his desk. As she worked, the day's events ran through Sylvie's mind.

" _Master is very kind. He gave me meals, allowed me to go outside with him… Is my master… is he really a good person?"_

As she continued to think about Siris, how he has treated her, and his possible motives, her rag brushed against something protruding from under the desk.

*Click*

"Huh?"

Sylvie got down on her knees and looked under the desk to see what she felt. On the left edge under the desk, there appeared to be some kind of button.

" _A hidden button? What's this for?"_

As Sylvie got back up, she noticed that drawer on lower left side of the desk was now three inches open. With curiosity, Sylvie peeked inside.

" _What are these?"_

Inside were two black metal rings, a small wooden box, a closed locket, and some kind of white disc-shaped thing. Sylvie's eyes widened, and she quickly closed the drawer.

*Click*

She began to feel anxious.

" _I hope Master doesn't know about this. He might punish me!"_

Sylvie pondered for a moment.

" _No… maybe he won't. He might not be happy… but he promised to never hurt me."_

Sylvie composed herself and went back to cleaning Siris' desk. A few seconds later, Sylvie saw a dim shine out of the corner of her left eye. She turned and saw it was coming from a blue orb that stood on top of a small bookshelf. Sylvie went up to the orb, but as soon as she took her first step, the orb stopped shining. Sylvie looked at the orb closely, wondering why it did that. After a moment, she shook her head and went back to work.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Outskirts of the Sunset Heights, in Green/Sand Hills_

 **[ Windy Hill… for Windy Valley – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

The sun was setting in the horizon, giving the world a reddish orange layer of color. A small lake can be found there, where a waterfall emptied into it. Surrounding this lake was a field of flowers; unique only to this small area. While a majority of Green Hills, informally referred to as Sand Hills, was still being restored to its former glory, this lake and small area surrounding it remained intact when Eggman took over the area. The vicinity was peaceful, with only the sounds of Flickies chirping, the roar of the waterfall, and the skipping of stones across the lake could be heard. Sitting on the shore of the lake sat a light gray colored hedgehog, telekinetically throwing said stones across the lake. Silver took the day off of working with the Resistance and repairing the nearby city. Although Knuckles had officially disbanded the Resistance months ago, Silver himself told him that there was still work to be done. So, unofficially, the Resistance hadn't disbanded. With the exception of the Chaotix and Sonic, all the other members and fighters were working together to rebuild everything Eggman had destroyed. However, it wasn't the repair work wasn't the reason why Silver was at the beautiful lake, nor was it the constant reminders of the war he fought until six months prior. The reason he was here, was because he was feeling melancholy. He wasn't sure why he felt this way. Or, that's what he's been telling himself for a while. Silver just stared into the lake's surface, watching the water ripple and flow up and down. He was so zoned out, he wasn't aware that two people were approaching him.

"Enjoying your little vacation, Silver?"

Silver was caught off guard and lost his focus; the stone he was levitating above him fell and hit him on the nose.

"Ow…" he moaned, rubbing his nose.

"Amy! You shouldn't have startled him like that! You know what happens when Silver loses concentration with his psychokinesis in use."

The pink hedgehog gave Silver an apologetic look.

"You're right, Cream. Sorry about that Silver."

Silver got up and turned to his friends.

"No worries, Amy. I'm fine. You did catch me off guard, but no harm done," he said with a friendly smile, "So, what brings you two to these parts?"

Amy and Cream looked at each other; then back towards Silver, with concerning looks on their faces.

"Ah… well, you see, Silver…" Amy began.

"Some people, us included, have noticed you've been acting… different lately," Cream finished.

Silver's face remained optimistic, but inside he felt busted, as though he was a kid caught staying up late.

"Different? What do you mean?" he asked nonchalantly.

Amy bit her lower lip.

"Well… these past couple of weeks, you've appeared to be… distracted," she said.

"You would look in the distance and just stare," Cream added.

"Maybe I just like the view," said Silver.

"Well…" Cream continued, "you would have this look in your eyes, as though you had lost something close to you."

Silver was confused and worried, which made him feel more confused, because why would he be worried?

"I haven't lost anything. At least, nothing worth losing sleep over…"

" _Shoot! Slip of the tongue!"_ Silver mentally remarked.

Cream may be only 11, but she wasn't some naïve child anymore. And both she and Amy knew Silver was hiding something personal from them.

"So tell me, Silver," Cream asked, "what would cause you to lose sleep over?"

Silver had an anime drop of sweat appear.

"Aahh… well, losing a friend to my enemy, to start with…" Silver stated nervously.

"Just 'losing' a friend?" Amy questioned, putting her hands on her hips.

"I- uh… well, I mean, a close friend…"

Cream crossed her arms.

"You'd lose sleep if you only lost a 'close' friend?" she asked.

That drop just got a bit bigger.

"No, I didn't mean it like that! I mean, if I lost any of my friends, I would lose sleep!"

Amy raised one of her brows.

"You'd only lose sleep if a friend was lost? What about someone you miss?"

"Well, yeah… I mean, I have lost sleep over a friend I haven't seen in a long time…"

Silver was so nervous, he wasn't aware of what he just said. And what he said confirmed Amy and Cream's suspicions.

"Oh, so you miss someone?" Amy asked slyly.

"Uh… s-sometimes, sure! I mean, you miss Sonic, don't you?"

"Don't use my boyfriend to turn this thing against me, Silver," Amy warned.

"Uh…"

That drop of sweat sure is getting big, isn't it?

"So, who is it? Who do you miss?" Cream asked, joining Amy's scheme.

"Wha- No one! I've been… suffering from metal exhaustion, that's all!"

The girls laughed, causing Silver to give an exasperated expression.

"What? It's true! Why's that so funny?"

The girls calmed down before replying.

"Silver, really? You?" Cream asked.

"Huh?"

"You of all people, Silver, should know how to avoid mental exhaustion. You have the power to manipulate objects with your mind! You really think that excuse will fly with us?" Amy asked.

"Well… yes?"

Amy deadpanned and Cream facepalmed.

"No, Silver. It won't," Amy stated bluntly.

"Come on, there must be some reason you've been feeling sad lately," said Cream.

Silver looked at Cream.

"How did you know I was feeling sad?"

"You just told us," Amy and Cream said together.

 **[ Sad Trombone Sound Effect ]** (Uploaded by EssentialSamples) (0:00 – 0:04)

" _Way to go, moron,"_ Silver mentally kicked himself.

"Ok… fine, I may have been feeling a little under the weather lately."

"Is this because you miss someone?" asked Amy.

"No."

"Amy, I don't think this is working," Cream whispered to Amy.

"Don't worry," Amy whispered back, "I've got an idea!"

Silver stood there, annoyed.

"If you guys are done pestering me, I would like to be left alone now, please?"

Amy shook her head.

"Alright, Silver. We'll stop asking. Why don't we just play a short game really quick!" she suggested.

Silver loosened up a little.

"A game?" he asked with suspicion, "What kind of game?"

"Oh, nothing too serious. We just take turns asking each other 10 questions at a time and the other person must answer them as fast as possible!" Amy explained.

"Hmm…" Silver thought out loud.

"Amy?" Cream whispered, "What are you doing?"

Amy winked at Cream.

"You'll see. For now, just play along!"

"Alirght, fine," Silver announced, "We'll play this game of yours. But only for a few minutes. After that, I'd like to be left alone. Deal?"

"Deal," Amy agreed.

The three sat down in a circle, or a triangle, facing each other.

"Ok, so for the first round, I'll ask you 10 questions Silver, then you ask Cream 10, and then she asks me 10. Second round we go in reverse, third round is the same as the first, and so on," Amy said, explaining the game, "The rule are simple: you must answer the questions, you must answer them as quickly as you can, no hesitating or you lose your turn to ask questions, no paradoxes, no 'yes or no' questions, no asking your opponent to do something, like dancing, hopping on one foot, et cetera, and most importantly…"

Amy gave Silver a dark glare.

"Absolutely no nudity," she growled.

Silver was unfazed.

"Uh… Amy, you do realize that you and Cream aren't adults, right? I am, but not you two… so I think that rule is self-evident and had no need to be stated."

Amy went back to her normal cheery self.

"Just making sure," she chuckled, "Ready, Silver?"

"I guess… wait, how do you win at this?"

"You don't, it's just for fun."

"Ok, fine. Ask."

"What's the color of your fur?"

"Light gray."

"What is Sonic's favorite food?"

"Chili dogs."

"What is Cream's mother's name?"

"Vanilla."

Silver answered question after question immediately. The game went on, with everyone asking simple no brainer questions to each other. Finally, the third round started.

" _Alright, Silver,"_ thought Amy, _"let's see how you do with these questions."_

"Out of questions, Amy? Gonna give up your turn?" Silver joked.

"Not to you, Silver. Ready?"

"Hit me."

"Alright..." said Amy, "What's the color of your eyes?"

"Gold."

"How old am I?"

"Ninet- 17!" Silver corrected himself.

Amy grinned.

"What species is that big purple Mobian, Big?"

"A cat."

"What have you been feeling emotionally lately?"

"Sad."

"Why?"

"Because I miss someone."

"And her name is?"

"Blaze."

"Thanks."

"Your welcome."

Cream sat there, dumbfounded and slack-jawed, while Amy leaned back with a look of success. It took Silver about 10 seconds to process what he just said.

"Wait… WHAT?!" he cried out.

Cream was laughing so hard that tears were falling out of her eyes. Silver just sat there like a statue, with his eye twitching.

"And the truth finally comes to light," Amy giggled.

"It's okay, Silver," said Cream as she pat Silver on the back, once she calmed down, "It's alright to miss someone you haven't seen in a long time."

Silver's reaction remained the same.

"Silver?" asked Amy.

She poked him in the cheek and he fell onto his back.

"Guess he's in shock, Amy."

"Yeah. I think I can fix that!"

Amy walked over to the lake, scooped some water with her hands, walked carefully over the Silver, and dumped the cold liquid on his face. Silver sat right up instantly.

"Aaahh! Huh? What? What happened?" Silver blurted out the moment the water hit his face.

"Oh, good, you're back," Amy teased.

"Why am I wet?"

"Amy poured water on your face."

"Why?"

"Because you went into shock when you told her that you missed Blaze."

Silver blinked a couple of times before proceeding to-

"Don't you dare go into shock again, mister," Amy ordered.

Silver obliged; instead he hung his head, embarrassed.

"Silver, come on! Don't be like that," Cream whined, "I'm sure you'll see Blaze again soon!"

"It's not… it's more than that…" Silver muttered.

"Huh? What do you mean Silver?" Amy asked with concern.

"It's… forget it, it doesn't matter."

"Something's bothering you about Blaze, Silver. We want to help you, so why not tell us what's wrong?" Cream asked.

"Please leave it alone, girls. It's probably too late, anyways."

"'Too late'? What's too late? I'm sure see Blaze again someday!"

Silver sighed.

"I haven't.. I mean, we haven't seen her in over a year! Not since Sonic's 19th birthday."

"Oh, yeah… you two seemed to be enjoy each other's company... wait…" Amy stared at Silver, "Do you like Blaze?"

"Yes," Silver answered, knowing there was no point in avoiding the inevitable.

He was almost half expecting Amy and Cream to tease him more with his feelings for Blaze.

"Have you told her your feelings?" Cream asked politely.

"… No."

"Why not?" Amy asked.

"Because I was afraid of how she would respond. And now, I don't think I'll ever know."

"But… isn't there a way you can see each other again?" Amy asked.

"There is… but only she can do it."

Amy sat down next to Cream.

"What can only Blaze do?" they asked.

"Travel between our worlds."

The girls gave Silver a puzzled look.

"But… why can't you? I mean, why can Blaze and not you?"

"… because we don't have them."

"Silver, what-"

Silver's head shot up, tears building in his eyes.

"We don't have the Chaos Emeralds!" he cried out.

Amy and Cream went quiet.

"Only with at least two Chaos Emeralds, or Sol Emeralds, can one travel between this world and Blaze's."

Amy pieced together Silver's problem.

"And because the Chaos Emeralds were sealed within the planet when Sonic defeated Dark Gaia…" she began.

"We can't go to Blaze's world and only she can use her Emeralds to come here," Silver finished.

Amy and Cream now fully understood why Silver has been feeling down.

"And now, unless she miraculously drops by, I'll never get to see her again."

" _Just like before…"_ he thought.

Amy was sympathetic, but she felt like there was more than Silver was telling them.

"Silver, I understand why you're upset. But, you make it sound as though Blaze has been-"

Before she could finish what she was saying, Amy's communicator went off. She looked down at the caller ID, hoping it was Sonic. It wasn't, to her slight disappointment, but she was still glad as to who it was.

"Hi, Tails! It's been a couple of weeks. What's up?"

" _ **Uh, hey, Amy."**_

His voice sounded like he had bad news.

"Tails?" Amy asked, "Are you okay? Is something wrong?"

" _ **Uh… yeah. Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. I have… something to tell you, Amy."**_

"Okaaaay. What is it?"

" _ **It's just that, I got a call from Sonic to meet him somewhere…"**_

The moment Sonic's name was mentioned, Amy's eyes widened.

"Sonic called you?! When?! Where is he?! Can I talk to him?!"

" _ **Amy… uh… that's the thing…"**_

"Well, what is it, Tails?"

The communicator was silent for a few seconds.

"Tails, what-"

" _ **Sonic's been hurt and he's unconscious and he's being treated at a local clinic."**_

Tails was so nervous, it almost sounded as though he made one long word. Amy's mouth slightly hung open. Silver and Cream looked at each other, back at Amy, and then covered their ears.

" _ **Uh, Amy…?"**_

"SONIC IS WHAT!?"

 **(Music fades)**

 _One napping Tails and explanation from Knuckles later…_

"I'm coming over, right now!" Amy said loudly in her communicator.

" _ **Amy,"**_ Knuckles argued, _**"I know you care about Sonic a lot, but there's no need for you to come see him. He'll be fine! As soon as he wakes up, we'll make sure he calls-"**_

"He hasn't called me in over a month!" Amy cried, "I'm tired of him just leaving me messages! I'm coming over, and that's that!"

" _ **Amy, hold on a second-"**_

Amy ended the call. Cream and Silver were just lying on the ground, listening to the whole scene in amusement.

"What!?" screamed Amy.

"Nothing!" Silver chuckled, "But I do feel a bit better now!"

Amy glared at Silver.

"Don't think you off the hook, Silver. When I get back, we are going to continue this conversation about you and Blaze!"

"Wait, so you are leaving?" Cream asked.

"Yup. I'm heading to the airport now and I'm going to see my Sonic!"

"But, what about the Resistance?" Silver asked, "You were the one keeping the repair operations running smoothly."

"Cream will be in charge, with you helping her, Silver."

"What?" Silver started complaining, "But she-"

"Cream has been doing most of my job in the past week. She's almost as good as me. She'll keep things running with you supervising her efficiency."

"Fine," Silver sighed.

"Oh, don't worry, Silver. It's not like were having Charmy running things," Amy pointed out.

"… Good point. Well, I guess if she's been doing well this week, how much different can it possibly be next?"

"Besides," Amy continued, "I'm sure Vanilla wouldn't mind helping out as well."

Amy turned to Cream.

"Think you're up for the task?" she asked.

"I'll do my best, Amy."

"Thanks, you guys," said Amy, "Come on, Cream. Let's leave Silver alone… for now. And let's hurry. I have a plane to catch!"

* * *

 _Siris' Clinic_

"Sorry," said Siris, "just checking on Sonic."

"Oh, no worries, we were just talking," said Tails.

Siris walked over to Sonic and checked on the progress of his wounds.

"His minor wounds appear to be almost completely healed. Guess his speed doesn't just apply to his legs," Siris stated.

Siris reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a flashlight pen. He lifted one of Sonic's eyelids and flashed a light across the eye a couple of times to check his pupil dilation. He then did the same to the other eye.

"There's nothing wrong, is there, doctor?" Knuckles asked.

"Aside from the sleep and couple of stitches, everything appears to be fine. We won't know exactly until he wakes up."

Tails' ears lowered.

"How long until he wakes up, Siris?" he asked.

Siris sighed.

"It's difficult to say right now. He could wake up in the next few seconds or tomorrow morning. If he suffered a concussion, it's possible he'll be out even longer," he explained.

"I see," said Tails.

"In any case, thank you again for your help, Siris," said Knuckles and shook Siris' hand.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. After all, it's part of the job."

Siris turned back to the door.

"As I mentioned before, the clinic closes at 5 PM, and you're not allowed to sleep here. But until closing time, you may stay as long as you wish!"

"Thanks!" Tails and Knuckles called out as Siris closed the door behind him.

 _Four hours later…_

 **[ Resident Evil Remake Save Room (Safe Heaven) 1 Hour ]** (Uploaded by OshiDood) (0:00)

Siris was sitting at his clinic desk, finishing some paperwork listening to some music. He heard a door open and close from down the hall. Tails and Knuckles walked up.

"We'll be staying at the hotel in town for the night," Knuckles said.

"Yeah. I hope you don't mind, but I landed my plane next to the clinic. I don't have any other place to store it for now, so…" Tails trailed off.

"It's alright, I'll make sure no one touches your plane, Tails. Have a good night, you two. I'll see you around."

Tails and Knuckles began to leave.

"Oh, hold on, Knuckles!" Tails exclaimed and turned back to Siris.

"Is something wrong, Tails?" Siris asked.

"No, I'm fine. I figured that since you'll be the one to know immediately when Sonic wakes up, I thought it would be a good idea for you to have this!" Tails explained as he pulled a small device from his inventory.

"Hm? What's this?" Siris asked as Tails placed it in his extended hand.

"It's a wrist-communicator," Tails told him, "It's a quick way for you to communicate with me and Knuckles."

"Really? You're letting me borrow one?"

"Nah, you can keep it. I make a lot of them, people prefer these over mobile phones anyways. Cool, huh?"

Siris wrapped the communicator around his right wrist and toyed with it for a moment.

"Wow, this is impressive," Siris complemented before looking at Tails, "And you build these? From scratch?"

"Uh, heh, yeah… I'm a bit of a techno nerd and mechanic."

"Cool. Such fine craftsmanship. Thank you very much, Tails. And don't you guys worry; the moment Sonic is awake, I'll contact you immediately."

"Yes, please do. And don't worry, my contact information is already listed in the device… Well, have a good night, Siris." Tails said before heading towards the door.

"… Actually, Tails…" Siris called out.

"Huh?" Tails said as he turned back to Siris, "What? Do you need help operating it?"

" _Aw, maaaann… I hope the communicator isn't faulty,"_ he thought.

"No, I think I've got it figured out. I actually had an idea come to mind."

"Oh? What is it?"

"Well, as I'm sure you and Knuckles are aware, since Sonic's case was and still is an emergency case, the costs will be a bit more than a normal one."

"Ah… right, the payment… well-"

"Hold on, don't get ahead of me. I actually have a friend currently living with me in my home, which is right through that door. How would you feel if I asked for another one of these communicators as payment instead of rings?"

"Really? I mean, these communicators aren't worth that much, and I'm sure even the two together wouldn't be enough to pay for the treatment."

"Don't worry about that, Tails! Money isn't an issue for me, it's not like I'm scraping to get by."

Tails thought about it.

"So, do we have a deal?" Siris asked.

"Deal!" Tails replied as he took out another communicator and gave it to Siris.

"Thanks. I'm sure she'll like it."

"She?" Knuckles asked with a smirk, "Is she a special lady friend of yours?"

"Oh, is that why you wanted-" Tails began.

"Good night, you two," Siris told them, shooing them away with his right hand; hoping he wasn't blushing.

"Alright, good night, Siris," said Knuckles, "By the way, what is that song you're listening to? I think I've heard it before."

"Safe room music from Resident Evil," Siris replied.

"Thought it sounded familiar. Well, see ya tomorrow!"

As soon as the door closed behind them, Siris began thinking aloud.

"What's wrong with me? Why am I acting like this when it comes to Sylvie?" Siris said quietly, "I don't like her in that way; I mean, she's just a kid… the implications would ruin me."

Siris sighed.

"I'm gonna go to Hell, aren't I?… Maybe it's just the fact that I haven't had company in a long time… yeah, that must be it. Just getting used to having a friend staying over… right?"

Siris wasn't sure if that was convincing enough for himself.

"I got to get my mind off this issue. Maybe finishing these documents will help."

 **(Music fades)**

 _One hour later…_

Siris finished the last pages of paperwork. He stretched his arms out and got up, locking up the clinic before heading back inside his house. But just as he reached for the door, he heard noises coming from the clinic hallway.

"Hm?"

Siris turned around and checked the clinic. Nothing in the empty patient rooms and storage room. As he walked back towards his house, Siris heard a noise coming from the first room to his right.

"That's Sonic's room."

Siris slowly opened the door. He poked his head in and took a quick look around. Tails and Knuckles must have forgotten to turn the lights off, since they were still on. Siris took a look at Sonic and saw that he was stirring from his slumber. Siris went in to check.

"Sonic?"

Sonic's eyes began to slowly open.

 **[ Marvel's Spider-Man 2018 )ST – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ]** (Uploaded by gamingchannel546) (0:00)

"Sonic, can you hear me?" Siris asked, taking his flashlight pen out again.

"Ugh… my head.." Sonic moaned.

"Sonic, can you hear me?" Siris asked again as he opened one of Sonic's eyes and shined the flashlight at it.

"Get that light outta my face, will ya?" Sonic moaned, turning his head away from the annoying light.

"Thank goodness you're awake. I was getting worried about possible head trauma."

Sonic sat up and looked around.

"Where am I? And who are you?"

"I'm Siris, the town doctor. You're currently in my clinic."

Siris slightly hesitated when he answered, causing Sonic to be cautious.

"How did I get here? Last thing I remember was fighting my metal friend in a forest… right near an old Eggman base."

"Eggman base? In the forest?"

Sonic started to get suspicious about Siris.

"Sorry, let's worry that later. Back to your question; you were brought here by some… old friends of mine," Siris explained, "They told me they found you near some weird building, or base as you call it, in the middle of the forest that's next to town."

Sonic had no reason to think Siris was lying, but he also had no reason to trust him either. Yet, there was something about Siris that Sonic couldn't put his finger on… almost as though they've met before…

"Do I know you?" he asked Siris.

"Hm? I don't know… I mean, I'm sure it would be hard for someone to not know you, Sonic."

"It's just… ah, forget it. Anyways, who are these friends of yours that saved me? I suppose I should meet them and thank them for saving me. Judging by the stitches on me, I'm guessing I was worse when I first got here."

Siris tilted his head from side to side.

"Yeah… yeah, you were a wreck. You lost quite a bit of blood and you had scratches, wounds, and bruises everywhere. You've been out for nearly 14 hours."

"14 HOURS!?" Sonic cried out.

"Don't worry, I already met with Tails and Knuckles. They tried calling you earlier, so I answered your communicator and told them to come here."

" _Huh? Knuckles? Why's he here? I thought Tails was coming alone,"_ Sonic thought.

"Uh, you sure it was my friends, doc? I mean, a lot of people would do anything to get within 100 feet of me," Sonic joked.

"How many other two-tailed foxes with a red echidna friend do you know?" Siris asked.

"Uh… other than Tails and Knuckles, none. I guess…"

Sonic relaxed and laid back down. He then noticed the communicator on Siris' wrist.

"Where'd ya get that, doc?" Sonic asked.

"The communicator? Tails gave it to me. He gave me this and another for a friend of mine as payment for your treatment. He told me to call him as soon as you woke up. And since you're awake now, I think I'd better do so."

Siris began pressing buttons on the communicator.

"Hold on a minute, Siris," said Sonic.

"Hm? Why? Don't you want Tails and Knuckles to know you're awake now?" Siris asked.

"I do, but… I'd rather not see them now. This headache of mine is killing me and I feel like I haven't slept in ages."

"Hm… do you feel anything else, any… other symptoms?" Siris asked with great concern.

"Well… I do feel a little nauseous, even though I haven't eaten anything in the past few hours, obviously. My ears are ringing a little and I feel dizzy."

Siris sighed.

"Sonic, those are all signs of a concussion," he explained, "How many fingers am I holding up?"

Siris held up his hand for Sonic to see.

"Two."

Siris deadpanned **(and looked at the readers)** ; he had up his thumb and his index and middle finger.

"How many **digits** am I holding up?"

"Three," Sonic smirked, "It's more fun to give a clever answer than the right answer."

Siris sighed, unable to hold back a small laugh.

"Ok, now follow my finger with your eyes. Don't move your head."

Siris moved his hand side to side and carefully watched Sonic's eyes as they followed his finger.

"Okay, good. From what I can tell you have definitely suffered a small concussion."

"You suspected before?"

"Yeah, the big black bump on your head was a dead giveaway."

Sonic rubbed the top of his head.

"Right…" Sonic moaned.

"Let me get you some pain medication. Nothing strong, just ibuprofen."

Siris left the room for a minute and came back with a couple of pills and a cup of water.

"Here, take both of these, it'll help deal with the pain."

"Thanks, doc."

"Ah, just call me Siris. Everyone does."

"Okay," Sonic replied before popping the pills into his mouth.

"For the time being, you should keep resting, Sonic. Seeing how fast you're able to heal quickly, I'm sure your concussion will go away in a matter of days, or a week at the most," Siris explained.

"Ah, no worries, Siris. I'll take it easy. Besides, I'm sure a good jog and some TV would be-"

"Absolutely not, Sonic," Siris warned, "I'm afraid to say, you must not do anything strenuous for the time being. That includes running and watching TV, or anything that requires a lot of concentration."

Sonic wasn't happy to hear this.

"I understand that you love to run, that's no secret to anyone on this planet. But this isn't some minor bump on the head you can just nod off, you basically bruised your brain. It needs to heal. If you push yourself, there could be severe consequences."

Sonic just stared at Siris, looking quite annoyed.

"One of those consequences," Siris continued, "could be second impact syndrome."

Sonic raised one of his brows.

"What's that?" he asked.

"It occurs when a second concussion is experienced before the brain has fully healed from the first one. I don't know how your body compensates against the forces you feel when you accelerate at high speeds; so it worries me that if you try to run with a concussion, you might end up doing more harm to your brain. You could have all sorts of complications; permanent memory loss, seizures, impaired motor and cognitive functions, even death."

Sonic seemed worried now.

"Impaired motor functions?" he asked with worry.

"I'm guessing you're more worried about not being able to run than dying? But, yes, you could end up not being able to run, or walk, normally again."

Sonic sighed.

"Fine… I suppose a week of doing nothing couldn't hurt," he said.

"Good to hear… Hm… From what I've observed so far, I think it's safe to say I can discharge you in the morning."

Sonic looked up at Siris.

"Tails and Knuckles are currently staying at the local hotel. You could stay there for the week, until you've fully recovered," said Siris.

"Thanks. Could you tell them that I have woken up?"

"Sure. I'll just send them a message. Too bad you didn't wake up a couple hours sooner when they were here. Anything else you want me to tell them?"

Sonic thought for a moment.

"Just that I'm not feeling my best right now and that's why I don't want to see them yet. But, tell them I want to talk to them in the morning about… uh… something important."

Siris gave Sonic a look.

"If you're referring to the base, I think we already went over it briefly before."

Sonic shook his head.

"No, I mean yes, but there's something else."

Siris relaxed his face.

"I don't think I should tell you-" Sonic began.

"No, no, it's fine, Sonic," Siris explained, "I thought you were referring to the base. It's not my business to know what you found or what your plans are."

Sonic sighed in relief. Siris wrote the message to Tails and Knuckles.

"So, nothing else? Just tell them you're awake, you have a minor concussion that should go away within the week, and that you have something important to tell them, including the base?" Siris asked.

"Yup, that 'bout sums it all up."

"Alright then, sending it now," said Siris as he pressed the send button.

"Thanks for everything, Siris."

"No problem, Sonic."

Siris checks the time on the communicator; which made things more convenient.

"Wow, it's almost seven!?" he exclaimed, "Jeez, I haven't even made dinner yet."

Siris paused and turned back to Sonic.

"Hey, you want anything to-"

Siris realized that Sonic was fast asleep, light snoring filled the room.

"Heh," Siris chuckled to himself, "guess that answers that question. See ya in the morning, Sonic."

Siris quietly left the room, dimming the lights as he closed the door. He took a deep breath and sighed, releasing the tension that had built up during the day's events, and walked towards the door leading to his home.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Blue Moon Hotel_

Tails and Knuckles were getting themselves ready for the night in their hotel room. The hotel was easy to find thanks to the directions given to them by a couple of locals and the room prices were quite low, much to their surprise. Tails had just pulled the sheets off the bed, when his communicator alerted him of a new message.

"That's strange… I just received a message from an unknown person," he remarked.

Knuckles, who was already resting on his bed, turned his head towards his confused friend.

"Maybe it's Siris," Knuckles suggested, "You probably forgot to add him to your contact list."

"Now that you mention it, I did forget to add him as a contact since I gave him the communicators. And I did mention mine was already in his," Tails explained as he activated his communicator, "Remind me to add him as a contact the next time we-"

Silence filled the room as Tails stopped talking for a few seconds. Knuckles had already went back into a more comfortable position to sleep as Tails was talking to him.

"Sure, I'll remind ya, Tails," Knuckles replied, not really paying attention.

After a few more seconds of silence, Knuckles was a little annoyed.

" _Sheesh, I told him that I would remind of about Siris' contact info, the least Tails could do is thank me."_

"Hey, Tails? I said would remind you."

Still no response. Knuckles turned back to Tails.

"Tails, the polite thing-", Knuckles began before stopping himself.

He saw Tails staring with wide eyes at his communicator. Concerned, Knuckles got up and walked to him.

"Tails?" Knuckles asked, putting a hand on the kitsune's shoulder, "What's up? Something wrong?"

Tails turned off his communicator and took a deep breath before turning to Knuckles.

"It was Siris who sent the message."

"…And? What happened? Is Sonic okay?"

"…Uh, yeah. Actually, Sonic woke up."

Now Knuckles' eyes widened.

"Really? When? Are we going to see him now?"

"Whoa, slow down, Knuckles," said Tails, who was already trying to keep himself calm, "Sonic woke up about 20 minutes ago. He and Siris talked for a bit. Siris mentions in the message that Sonic has a minor concussion, needs to rest for a few days, and he didn't want to talk to us until morning about Eggman's base and something important."

The two stood there in silence, their bodies shaking with excitement and nervousness.

"Well, that's… great news, Tails," said Knuckles.

"Yeah, it is. I feel much better knowing that Sonic woke up and appears to be okay, aside from the concussion."

"Don't worry, Tails," Knuckles chuckled, "Sonic will be back to normal in no time."

Knuckles thought for a moment.

"Or at least what could be considered normal for him," he added, laughing.

"Very funny, Knuckles," Tails remarked sarcastically, "Let's get some rest. Knowing Sonic, he'd probably have us sneak him out of the clinic tomorrow, just so we could go explore that base."

"He probably would," Knuckles replied as he headed back to his bed, "'Night, Tails."

"'Night, Knuckles."

As the two friends drifted off to sleep, they were unaware that someone was listening in on their conversation from the hallway outside.

"Sonic the Hedgehog? Here? In Blue Moon Village?"

The stranger paused.

"Hm… Sonic is at the clinic now… this is not good… But, maybe… maybe I can stop Siris' plans… Yes, with Sonic and his friend's help, I might be able to put Siris away forever… perhaps these… unexpected arrivals may be the key to his plan… I can't let that doctor win. Instead, I'll show them the truth behind his… angelic façade."

The stranger squeezed his fists.

"Too long has he been a thorn in the side. If I want to bring justice to the world… I must prove that he is guilty of his crimes… I just need more time…"

The stranger walked away, mumbling to himself. Just as the stranger disappeared behind the closing elevator doors, the door across from Tails and Knuckles' room opened. A head poked out and looked around.

"Hey," a voice from within the room called out, "do you see anyone?"

The head went back into the room and the door closed.

"Nah," the owner of said head replied, "didn't see anyone. They must have left or something."

"Phew, that's a relief," said the first, "For a moment I thought it was Vector hunting for us."

"Well, it wasn't… I hope. Anyways, let's get back to sleep. I just got a message from Siris saying that Sonic woke up. We can meet with them tomorrow morning!"

"What do you mean 'message'? Don't you mean email?"

"Funny, I know. Apparently, Tails gave him a communicator. Now we can call or message him directly."

"Tails? He's here?"

"Yeah, and so is your old pal, Knuckles!"

"Get outta here! Really?"

"Yeah!"

"Heh, this week is getting more and more interesting…"

* * *

 _Abandoned Eggmanland_

 **[ Eggman Land – Crimson Carnival Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

After hours of searching around the long abandoned Eggmanland, Team Dark decided to end the search there and began planning their next possible location to search. Rouge was thinking of all the most likely places that could possibly harbor a Chaos Emerald, assuming more were on the surface, while Shadow, standing nearby with his arms crossed, shot down suggestions one by one, giving each a simple, but reasonable, remark about why they shouldn't go there. Omega was standing nearby, keeping an eye on the area around them. He hadn't given much input to any of Rouge's suggestions, other than pointing out locations Team Chaotix have already searched or planned on searching. Even to Shadow, it was surprising just how much ground those three have managed to cover in just a few hours. As Rouge continued to list off locations, Omega's scans briefly picked something up. It was so brief, that it was only thanks to Omega's extremely high-speed response programs and systems that he was able to catch it. Eggman built his E-series robots to have response times as short as a few nanoseconds. **Yeah, I wish my computer and gaming systems were as good, if not better.** Anyways, Omega turned in the direction the anomaly was picked up. He didn't see anything, but he went to check it out anyways, just to be sure.

"We're running out of possible locations, Shadow," Rouge stated.

"Doesn't mean you don't have a few hundred more," Shadow retorted, "Where else should we look?"

"Station Square?" Rouge suggested.

"Too many people. I'm sure someone would have found an Emerald there by now."

"South Island?"

"Searched there over a year ago, before my first run in with Infinite. Even now, with all the repairs going on, someone would have found it by now."

 **|| Explanation in A/N at end of chapter ||**

"Angel Island?"

Shadow slightly deadpanned at Rouge.

"Wrong Emerald, Rouge. Even if a Chaos Emerald was there, I'm sure your boyfriend would have already given it to Sonic, if he hadn't lost it already."

Rouge glared at him.

"One, that echidna is not my boyfriend!" she stated, a bit louder than she was talking before.

"You're blushing," Shadow retorted bluntly.

"Not important! Two, Knuckles would have told us if he found an emerald; he promised us years ago he would."

"You mean he promised you, not us," Shadow corrected, rolling his eyes.

"And three, what makes you think he would lose a Chaos Emerald when-"

"Because he's incapable of protecting even one, specifically the one he guards at all times, for one day without someone stealing or breaking it."

Rouge sighed.

"Fine, next location…" she continued, smirking when she thought of a special place, which Shadow immediately noticed.

"What have you come up with now?" he asked, annoyed.

"The ARK."

Shadow closed his eyes as he lifted his right hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose **(or the closest thing on a Mobian)**.

"No."

"Why?"

"It's in space, we have researchers working there who are probably smart enough to know if one is there…"

"Well, you never know-"

"And you already know all that and just suggested the ARK just to mess with me. Next?"

Rouge sighed.

"Well, we could… hang on, where's Omega?"

Rouge looked around.

"Probably bored of these suggestions, as I am. He went back over there a minute ago," Shadow told her as he jerked his head towards Omega, who was scanning the area.

Rouge noticed and turned to Shadow.

"I wonder what he's up to. Come on, let's catch up and ask him," said Rouge.

"Mm hmm," Shadow responded.

He pulled out the green Chaos Emerald.

"Chaos Control."

The two disappeared in a small flash of light and teleported next to Omega within the next infinitesimal moment. Omega didn't notice, or he did and just ignored them, and kept scanning. Rouge stepped forward.

"Omega?"

Omega scanned for a couple more seconds before turning to Rouge.

"Rouge. Have you and Shadow decided on the next location?"

"Not yet, Omega. What are you doing over here?"

Omega turned back towards the direction he was scanning.

"Sensors picked up an unknown anomaly in this vicinity," he informed them.

Shadow and Rouge looked around in the general direction Omega was looking.

"I don't see anything. You sure your scanners found something?" Rouge asked.

"Affirmative. Anomaly picked up approximately 35 meters away from our previous location."

"You mean, from where we were planning our next move?" Rouge asked.

"Affirmative. Anomaly was found on scanners for approximately 1.2 nanoseconds."

Rouge shook her head.

"Shadow, do you see or sense anything?" she asked.

Shadow took a quick look around, with the help of Chaos Control to freeze time. He came back and shook his head, indicating to Rouge that he didn't.

"There's nothing here, Omega. It was probably nothing, a fluke. Or your sensors just need an update."

Omega turned to Rouge.

"All systems are at maximum efficiency. All systems running nominal. Damage assessment reads 0.00%. Update not necessary."

Rouge sighed. Of all the years she's known Omega, it was nearly impossible to prove any of his systems to be flawed or if he ever made a mistake.

"Let's get moving," said Shadow, "we're wasting time just standing here. Rouge, besides space and the core of the planet, where would be the last place you would look for a Chaos Emerald?"

Rouge thought for a moment.

"Last place I would check would be where ever Sonic is. Experience has been that Sonic would manage to collect all seven Chaos Emeralds during his adventures and defeat his enemy with them."

Shadow silently listened.

"…If this was over two years ago," Rouge continued, "Now, I'm not so sure it is even possible."

Shadow just stared.

"Might as well ask and see what he'll say," she added as she brought up her communicator to contact Sonic.

After a couple of seconds of pushing buttons, Rouge had a confused look on her face.

"Hm… that's strange… something's causing a lot of interference; I can't get a hold of Sonic or his friends," she explained.

Shadow sighed and brought his communicator up. **(Again, Sonic 06 style, it's there, we just can't see it.)**

"G.U.N. Command, this Agent Shadow."

While normal communications were down, G.U.N.'s communications were done over a different frequency, which was almost nearly impossible to block or interfere.

"This is Command. What's the status of your mission, over?"

"Mission ongoing. Requesting immediate location of Sonic the Hedgehog."

The communicator was silent for a few seconds.

"Uh, request pending, Agent Shadow, please standby."

The three members of the team were surprised. Since when did Shadow's requests ever need pending? And it wasn't like he was asking for an arsenal of military grade weapons, he was just looking for the person he'd rather not deal with. In fact, even when he asked for an arsenal, his request was immediately granted.

"Let me repeat my request, in case you didn't hear me the first time," Shadow explained with a threatening tone, "Where is Sonic the Hedgehog?"

The only response for a moment was silence.

"R-roger, Agent Shadow, understood… uh… Person's location is currently unknown… last known location was South Island, six months ago."

"I know that, I'm the one who reported that location, you idiot," Shadow growled, "Give me the most recent witness sighting of him."

"Uh… roger, one second, Agent… witnesses have reportedly sighted him near Spagonia about two weeks ago. Also, I have new orders for you from the Commander. He's ordered you to refrain from using the Chaos Emerald as a means for transportation from this point further. He wants this mission to be top secret and to have as little attention made as possible. That includes possible enemies scanning for your Emerald and getting any form of assistance on this mission."

"Understood," Shadow replied and turned off his communicator.

"Idiot," he muttered as he rubbed his forehead.

"Well, that was quite amusing," Rouge stated, "Never heard of anyone delay your request, Shadow. And I'm sure that we already broke one of those new orders before we even got them."

"Hmm…"

"…You think something's up?" she asked.

"No. Just someone's incompetence. Let's get moving, it'll take a few hours for us to get to Spagonia."

"You're not going to use Chaos Control?" Rouge asked.

"…For now, no. We have our orders. Let's go."

The three sped off towards the distance, searching for Sonic.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Kanon OST 5 2 Steps toward ]** (Uploaded by KyonxNagato) (0:00) **(Loop it… a lot)**

Siris entered his home, taking a look at Sylvie's hard work for the day.

" _Wow, Sylvie did a lot of cleaning. I'm amazed she did this much in one day."_

Siris sighed as his mood changed from appreciation to guilt.

" _I shouldn't be doing this. I mean, she's no longer a slave, but now I feel as though I have a servant… or a maid. And an unpaid one too. She has no where else to live nor would she accept rings as payment. I suppose what we have now will have to do."_

Siris went to his bedroom and put his coat away. He came back out and headed towards the kitchen. Before he reached it, Siris saw Sylvie standing by one of the bookcases. He went up to her and noticed she was staring at the glowing blue orb.

"Find something interesting?" Siris asked.

Sylvie jumped and turned towards Siris.

"Oh, Master. Welcome home. I didn't hear you come in."

"It's fine, Sylvie. I see you've noticed the orb on the bookcase there."

Sylvie started looking anxious.

"Uh, this orb? I- I didn't touch it or anything, honest."

Siris smiled and shook his head.

"Sylvie, I'm not saying you did anything wrong. I'm just stating that you seem to like looking at it."

Sylvie looked down, slightly embarrassed.

"Well… it is a pretty color… and the glow makes me feel… calm," she explained.

"Hm. I get the same feeling when I look at it too."

Siris walked up next to Sylvie.

"I've had this orb for two years. Funny thing is, it shouldn't even be an orb."

"Eh?" Sylvie asked.

Siris shook his head.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. There's some history behind that orb," Siris explained as he turned to Sylvie, "Maybe one day, I'll tell you about it."

Sylvie just stared at Siris. She wasn't exactly sure about what he meant. Siris turned away, realizing that he was starting to blush.

" _I really need to get some serious help if these thoughts don't go away,"_ Siris thought to himself.

"Anyways, Sylvie, it's almost time for dinner. Anything in particular you would like to eat?"

Sylvie silently thought for a moment.

"What ever Master wishes to eat would be fine with me," she replied timidly.

Siris smiled and stroked the top of Sylvie's head.

"If you say so, Sylvie. I make us some rice and breaded pork chops tonight."

" _Huh,"_ Siris thought as he continued stroking…

 **GET YOUR MINDS OUT OF THE GUTTER!**

 ***Ahem* Anyways…**

… as he continued stroking Sylvie's head, _"I can barely feel her body heat through her fur and quills…"_

"Uh…" Sylvie began saying, "stroking my head… feels good?"

"Hm?" Siris replied, "Do you like how it feels when I stroke your fur and quills?"

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I don't think my fur is that pretty…" she said sadly.

"Well, I think it is," Siris told her.

Sylvie smiled a little upon hearing Siris' compliment. A couple seconds later, he stopped stroking her head.

"I'll get started on dinner," he said.

Sylvie's smile vanished, and she looked at Siris with the look of someone who wants to help.

"Would you like to help me prepare, Sylvie?" Siris asked.

"If Master does not mind."

With that, the two went into the kitchen to prepare dinner.

" _She sure is learning fast."_

 _30 minutes later…_

"This meal is delicious. Thank you very much," said Sylvie as Siris placed her meal in front of her at the dinner table.

"Your welcome, Sylvie."

The two began to eat their meal in silence.

"… Ah, Master?"

"Yes, Sylvie?"

"… How's So- I mean, the patient?"

"Sylvie, you can refer to everyone by their name," Siris explained, "But, to answer your question, Sonic's doing quite well. He woke up a few minutes before I came back inside. He has a minor concussion, but with a few days rest, he'll be back to normal."

"… That's good."

Siris noticed Sylvie was still being her emotionless self.

"You're quite the expressionless one, aren't you?" Siris asked.

"…I'm expressionless?"

Siris nodded.

"I mean, I've seen you smile a couple of times and I've seen a look in your eyes, but most of the time, you show no emotion," he explained.

"Sorry, this has become a habit."

"Because of your last master?"

Sylvie nodded.

"It would have been better if I didn't have a soul…" she said quietly.

Siris shot a look of concern towards her. Sylvie must have assumed she was quiet enough for Siris to not hear, because Siris' expression slightly startled Sylvie.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you, Master. I… I mean… what I meant was…"

Sylvie trailed off and went silent. Siris was worried about her state of mind.

"It's alright, Sylvie. I understand how you feel."

Sylvie seemed relieved to hear that.

"…I see that it's getting late. Why don't we go straight to bed after finish eating?" he suggested.

"That's fine," Sylvie replied.

They remained silent for a few moments as they continued eating.

"Sylvie," said Siris, "tomorrow morning, there will be a few visitors coming to see Sonic."

Sylvie looked up; her eyes seemed to be telling Siris that she was ready for her orders as a slave.

"Don't worry, they'll be in the clinic. I just wanted to let you know that I'll be in the clinic all day tomorrow, including lunch," Siris explained, "In the meantime, I have a little gift for you."

Sylvie was confused.

" _A… gift? From my master? Is it some kind of punishment?"_

"Which hand do you write with, Sylvie?"

"Eh?" she replied, "Uh… my right hand. Why?"

"I have a little thing you can wear on your wrist. I assume you'd like to wear it on your left?"

"…Actually, I prefer wearing things on my right wrist," she replied shyly.

"Really? Huh. Funny, so do I," Siris remarked.

 **Same, I wear my watch on my right wrist even though I write with my right hand. Strange isn't- no, wait, I'll save that for later.**

"Can I have your right hand, please?" he asked.

Sylvie reluctantly offered Siris her right hand. Siris reached into his inventory and pulled out a communicator. He gently wrapped it around her wrist and fastened it on, making sure it wasn't on too tight.

"Is this too tight?" he asked?

"…No. Uh… what is this thing?"

"As payment for Sonic's treatment, I made a deal with one of his friends that came by earlier; instead of rings he gave me two communicators."

"Really?"

'Yeah. These things are pretty cool… actually, in all honesty, he gave me one as a means to contact him. I had the idea of him giving me another and making both cover the costs."

"Why would you ask for a second one?"

Siris blushed a little.

"I figured… maybe you could have one as well."

"Oh… you didn't need to do that," Sylvie said timidly.

They were silent for moment.

"Well, consider it as a gift for all the hard work you've done so far. I know you've only been here for two days now, but I figured why not?. Here, I'll show you how it works."

 _15 minutes of explanation and eating later…_

"Here, I'll do the dishes, Sylvie. Why don't you head on off to bed now?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it's not a big deal."

Sylvie seemed hesitant.

"It's fine, Sylvie, don't worry. I'm sure there's plenty more you can do tomorrow. For now, get some rest. I got a feeling it's going to be a big day, for both of us."

"…In that case, good night, Master. And thank you for the meal."

Sylvie nodded her head and walked off to her room. Siris got up and took the dishes to the sink. Although he was amazed by today's events and the coming events of the next day, Siris could help but feel something was wrong; like this was beyond a coincidence. Like someone had planned this all out.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Secret Base at Unknown Location_

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) **(Loop it multiple times)**

Deep in a secret base, an unknown individual sat in their thrown, shrouded in the shadows, overlooking the construction of a robot army. The thrown was surrounded by monitors, each surveying different locations around the base. The individual kept a close eye on one, which housed their prisoner. A small bird shaped robot flew in and perched itself on the individual's shoulder.

"Ah," they said with a robotic voice, "another update? And so soon? It had better be good."

A small wire shot out of the arm of the thrown and plugged itself into the access port on the bird's neck. A small screen appeared right in front of the individual. They quickly read through the update before releasing the cable from the bird.

"Send them in, immediately," they said and the bird flew away.

A few seconds later, two mechanical doors opened at the end of the room and two figures entered.

"So… I see that both of you have failed to comply with my instructions," the individual told the two, "Is there any reason why that is?"

The first figure walked up, stepping into the dim light given off by a single light bulb in the center of the room. The figure responded with mechanical noises and beeps.

"Is that so?" the individual asked, "This is interesting… so you think that's why Sonic had defeated you so easily, Metal Sonc?"

Metal Sonic nodded, occasionally his head jerked due to the damage Sonic had done to him when they fought. The damage to his head was now severe, with many circuits fried and components missing and sparks constantly spraying every direction. His body was dented and warped, and his limbs where all covered in scratches and chips of metal missing.

"Hm…" the individual pondered, "This news is very disturbing to me, Metal Sonic."

Metal Sonic appeared to be nervous in this individual's presence.

"However," they continued, "it also pleases me. This could actually make things simpler… Go get yourself repaired, Metal Sonic. I'm still disappointed that you were seen by that hedgehog, but given the circumstances, I'll pardon you for now. You may leave."

Metal Sonic made a couple of beeps and left the room.

"As for you," the individual said to the other figure, "you I might not be so generous to. Step forward!"

The figure stepped forward, the light revealing they were wearing a cloak.

"So, you failed to retrieve the Master Emerald. Worse, you allowed that idiot echidna to shatter it into numerous pieces, which flew all over the globe. While Metal Sonic failed, he managed to bring me useful information; you have failed, and yet you bring me nothing? I should throw you into-"

The cloaked figure interrupted the individual with beeps.

"Is that so? Bring them to me. I wish to analyze them."

The cloaked figure reached into their inventory and revealed three green crystals to the individual.

"Hm… they appear to be fragments of the Master Emerald… Well, give them to me!"

The cloaked figure walked up to the individual, handing them the fragments before slowly backing away.

"Computer," the individual ordered, "scan these items and give me the results, immediately!"

From the ceiling, a laser-shaped machine was lowered down. From the end, it fired a beam of light to analyze the fragments. Within seconds, the machine finished scanning, returned to the ceiling, and produced the results on the small screen in front of the individual.

"Well, now. Even I'm surprised. These are indeed fragments of the Master Emerald."

The individual turned to the cloaked figure.

"I might have been a bit hasty with you… ah, you appear to be damaged as well. You may leave now for repairs. As soon as you are finished, return back to me at once. I have a new job for you."

The cloaked figure nodded and left the room. The room was once again filled with the sounds of computer beeps and hums. But the individual sensed another presence in the room.

"Ah, returned so soon?" they turned their head to the right and saw a shadow figure in the darkness. A pair of green eyes appeared on the figure.

"Yes, and I have good news, if I may proceed."

"Continue."

"Thank you, my lord. It seems Shadow and his little team are unable to find any evidence of the remaining Chaos Emeralds. They've become so desperate that they even recruited the help from the Chaotix and Sonic himself."

"Really? This is becoming more and more complicated…" the individual stated, "I like it. It also makes things easier in the long run. Instead of having to deal with all of them one by one, we can take them all out at once."

"There's more."

"Oh, this is getting better and better. Continue."

"According to G.U.N.'s intel, Sonic was last seen in Spagonia two weeks ago."

The individual was very pleased.

"Oh, this is too good. I know exactly what you're getting at. Sonic must have been looking for Dr. Eggman. And if he's traveled to the location I think he went… then Metal Sonic's data is consistent. Sonic must be at Blue Moon Village."

The individual began to slowly laugh, menacingly.

"Oh, this is excellent. Those fools won't realize that I have two sleeper agents already placed there. When the time comes-"

"I'm afraid I have some terrible news regarding that detail, my lord."

"What? Tell me, now!"

"It would seem that one of those agents, a Charles Hemburg, has recently died in a fatal car accident."

"Is that so? Well, that would explain why he hasn't been in contact in the past week. Hmm… this puts a small wrinkle in my plans. No matter, I have plenty of time to solve this issue."

"I also have unfortunate news regarding my job, as well."

"Unbelievable… what is it?"

"It appears the robot Shadow drags around with him is more advanced than we initially believed… I'm certain that for a fraction of a second, his equipment was able to detect me."

"I am not-"

"But, I may have a solution and an alternate plan."

Silence.

"Go on."

"Why not send a squad of robot troops after them? They'll believe that they're the reason for the anomaly on the scans. For them, it could mean either they are close to another Chaos Emerald or just slow them down on their search for Sonic. Better yet, we could send even larger squads after them to throw them on a wild goose chase. More resistance means getting close to something important, right? That way, I can stay on their tracks without having to worry of being detected again."

"I like the way you think. And I will send a platoon after them immediately. But I will slightly delay your part in this new plan. For now, I have a special job for you…"

 _10 minutes later…_

"So, do you understand what must be done?"

"Yes, my lord. And I presume this machine can only be used once?"

"Correct. You must leave immediately. The more of an upper hand we can get, the better."

"I will begin my mission now, my lord."

The shadow figure vanished.

"Computer, send in the best retrieval team we have. And make sure they have a Class C Level 8 leader attached to their unit."

Within a minute, a group of four robots entered the room.

"Orders, sir?" they asked in unison.

"It's time we poke the hornet's nest. I have a mission for you four. You are to travel to the town of Blue Moon Village and apprehend Sonic the Hedgehog. I have a theory that he's there now. You are to find him-"

The robotic bird entered and flew quickly to its leader.

"What? More news?"

The bird was plugged in and the individual read the news.

"Aw, now this is just the cherry on top of the beautifully crafted plans."

The individual turned their attention back to the unit.

"Slight change in plans. It would seem that our agent from Blue Moon Village has wonderful news. Sonic has been badly injured during his skirmish with Metal Sonic! This will make things easier. Forget apprehending the hedgehog…"

The individual leaned forward, their shadow towering over the unit.

"… kill him on sight."

"Understood."

"Very good. Your unit callsign will be Dagger; leader is Black Hand."

"Yes, my lord."

"You two," the individual ordered, pointing to two of the Dagger units, "come forth."

The two did as they were told as their comrade and leader watched.

"I think I will sacrifice two of these Master Emerald fragments to each of you. While they have no grand use on their own, you two will be able to harness some of its power."

The individual modified the two soldiers so they each could house a shard and gain its power. Their eyes began to glow green before changing back to red.

"Begin you mission immediately! And leave no witnesses!"

The unit bowed and left the room.

"You may have gotten stronger over the years, Sonic… but this time, you won't survive. Once everything has been set, no one will survive my wrath."

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _*** October 13, 2020 ***_

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Kanon OST 8 Pure snows ]** (Uploaded by KyonxNagato) (0:00) **(Yup, loop it over and over)**

"Good morning, Master."

"Morning, Sylvie. Up early again, I see."

Like yesterday, Sylvie had woken up earlier than Siris. She was already sitting on the ground folding laundry when Siris walked into the living room/kitchen hybrid. It was 6:30, a bit later than Siris wanted to get up, but too late now. He walked into the kitchen and made himself a cup of hot chocolate. As Siris turned around from the stove where he boiled the milk, he noticed Sylvie was looking in his direction. As soon as his eyes met hers, she quickly turned away and focused on folding the laundry. Though she tried to hide it, Siris easily knew what Sylvie wanted.

"Would you like a cup of hot chocolate, Sylvie?"

She turned back to Siris and slowly nodded her head. Siris smiled and grabbed a mug and another hot cocoa mix from the cabinet. There was still enough hot milk sitting on the stove for another cup. Siris would sometimes treat himself to two cups but decided to give Sylvie one instead. He made her a glass and turned back.

"Would you like whipped cream with it?"

 **Don't even go there, sickos.**

"Uh… whipped cream?"

" _My god, first pancakes, now whipped cream? I can't wait to show her all these amazing things she's been kept away from…"_

Siris' mind stopped.

" _Wait… why am I getting so excited by this? It shouldn't come as a surprise to me that she might not know about these kinds of things."_

"Master?"

Sylvie's voice brought Siris back from reality.

"Oh, sorry, Sylvie. Here," Siris replied as he went to the fridge, "this is whipped cream. Come over and have a test taste."

 **I mean it… not one word.**

Sylvie got up and walked up to Siris. He asked her to stick our her finger as he placed some dessert on it. Sylvie gave it try.

"So, would you like some in your cocoa?"

"Yes, please."

Siris added some to her drink and handed her the mug.

"Careful," he warned, "it might still be hot. Give it a minute or two to cool down."

Sylvie nodded and sat down at the table. She slowly brought the mug up to her mouth…

 **This is a lost cause isn't it? Me warning you?**

… and took a sip.

'It's sweet and warm… I've never had a drink like this before," she noted.

"Glad you like it," Siris told her as he took a sip from his mug.

Siris sat down across from Sylvie. They didn't talk; just drank their hot cocoa. Siris' gaze would occasionally shift to the scars on Sylvie's body. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. Sylvie caught Siris observing her.

"These scars from when corrosive chemicals were poured on me," she explained.

Siris' eyes darted towards Sylvie's.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare… wait, someone gave you those scars?"

Sylvie slowly nodded her head.

"I'd… rather not remember it," she replied, getting a little choked up, "I dislike painful things, but… I don't intend to disobey anything Master wants me to do."

Siris rubbed his forehead.

" _So it's not like she doesn't have anything she dislikes."_

Siris reached over and patted Sylvie on the head.

"…Is there something wrong?" Sylvie asked.

Siris just smiled and shook his head.

" _She has breathtaking silver fur and calm eyes…"_

Siris' train of thought was interrupted when he loud knocking at the front door.

 **(Music fades)**

"Huh? Are they here already?" Siris asked as he got up and walked to the door.

He opened the door to see who it was.

"Hello?"

"WHERE'S SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!?"

"Uh… good morning to you too…" Siris said to the pink hedgehog that just shouted in his face.

"Sorry, I got a little carried away there. I'm Amy Rose, Sonic's-" she began.

"Sonic's friend, I'm guessing," Siris finished.

They stood in silence for a moment.

"Look, Amy, I know you want to see Sonic, but right now he's sleeping off a concussion and the clinic is closed. So, you'll just have to wait a couple of hours before-"

"Please~?" Amy begged.

Siris rolled his eyes and sighed.

"No."

Amy was not too happy to hear that.

"Listen, Sonic's fine. He's not going anywhere. When the clinic opens in a couple of hours you can-"

Amy pulled our her Piko Piko Hammer and raised it over her head.

"-wait, where did you pull that hammer from?"

Amy slammed her hammer down towards Siris' head…

…

…

 **Making suspense here.**

…

…

…only for Siris to effortlessly stop it an inch away from his head with his left hand. Amy was shocked, as was Sylvie, who was watching this occur.

"Hm," said Siris, "Overreacting a bit, are we?"

"Uh…" was all Amy could say.

"By the way, I'm right handed. Now put that thing away. I can tell that you'll refuse to wait, so I'll let you in the clinic in a minute. Let me just get ready first. Okay?"

Amy nodded slowly as she put her hammer back into… Hammerspace? **Who knows, your guess is as good as mine.** Siris closed the door.

"Sorry about that Sylvie. Wasn't expecting that. I'm gonna go get ready so she can see Sonic. You don't mind doing the dishes, do you?"

Sylvie shook her head.

"It is no problem, Master."

"Okay, thanks, Sylvie. I would do them, but I get the feeling Amy will try to break down the clinic door any second."

Siris rushed off to the bathroom to ger ready.

" _Master is very strong,"_ thought Sylvie.

Two minutes later, Siris walked down the hallway in his lab coat.

"I'll be in the clinic, Sylvie. If you need anything, just knock," he told Sylvie as he walked into his clinic.

"Have a good day," Sylvie said before Siris closed the door behind him.

"You too, Sylvie," he replied.

Siris walked to the clinic's front door to unlock it. He didn't even have a chance to reach the lock before Amy opened the door and walked in.

" _Huh… I thought I locked the door last night,"_ Siris thought.

"So, where's Sonic?"

"Uh, right! Follow me."

Siris led Amy to Sonic's room.

"He might still be sleeping. If he is, I'd advise you let him stay that way. A concussion is not something to take lightly and sleep is the best treatment for one," Siris explained.

"I understand. Thank you, uh… doctor…?"

"Call me Siris."

Siris opened the door and peaked inside. The lights were still dimmed from last night.

"Sonic?" Siris called out softly.

Sonic was lying in bed, lightly snoring. Siris closed the door and turned to Amy.

"Sorry, Amy, he's still sleeping. You'll have to wait up front."

"Aww…" Amy pouted, "Can't I stay by his side? I promise not to bother him or wake him up."

Siris sighed.

"Promise?"

"Promise!"

"Alright. But if you wake him up, I'll have to remove you from his room."

"Thank you, Siris!" Amy exclaimed, shaking his hand with both of hers.

"Quietly," Siris said sternly.

"Oh, right. Sorry."

 **[ Kanon OST 16 Mukai ]** (Uploaded by KyonxNagato) (0:00) **(No need to loop this one)**

Amy slowly opened the door and entered the room. Siris watched her to make sure she did as she was told. Amy slowly walked up to her sleeping boyfriend. She looked at the injuries that he had received and sighed; they almost all appeared to be completely healed.

"Oh, Sonic," Amy said softly, "always finding trouble wherever you go."

Siris kept his eye on Amy as she began to stroke Sonic's head.

"Six months…" she continued, "six months you've been gone. Searching for Eggman. And not once did you come back to visit any of us. Just the occasional message you'd leave for us."

Amy sniffled.

"You'd message me, saying 'I'm fine' or 'Don't worry, I'll find Eggman soon'," Amy said, mimicking Sonic, "but you never talk to us. Even when you told us you were leaving, you wouldn't let any of us come along."

She chuckled.

"Just like you, always putting yourself in harm's way just to protect us."

She turned towards Siris.

"Could you give me some privacy, please? I wish to be alone."

"Of course. Just remember what I said," said Siris as he closed the door.

Siris took a look down the hall.

"Well, might as well do an inventory check. It'll take a while, but it'll keep me busy before I have to open the clinic."

Siris walked down the empty hall down to the room where he kept all the supplies for the clinic.

 _Two hours later…_

Amy walked out of Sonic's room and towards Siris' desk, where he was doing paperwork.

"Hey, Siris?"

"You woke him up, didn't you?"

"No, he's still sleeping. I wondering where the lady's room is."

"Ah. It's down the hall, on your right."

"Thank you," said Amy and she headed towards the restroom.

Siris went back to the forms. A few seconds later, the front door opened.

"Morning, Siris," said Tails.

"Ah, Tails. Good morning. And you too, Knuckles."

The two walked up to Siris.

"We got your message last night. Is he awake now?" Tails asked.

He was clearly excited to see Sonic again.

"He was last night, but he went back to sleep. He's still sleeping now, so try to be..."

Siris stopped talking and turned his head towards the hallway.

"Is something wrong?" Knuckles asked.

Siris didn't reply; he got up and headed for Sonic's room. He opened the door and peaked inside. Tails and Knuckles came up next to him, worried that something bad had happened to Sonic. Siris turned his head towards them, smiling.

"Never mind, he's awake now. Looks like he just woke up a second ago."

Siris stepped aside to allow Tails and Knuckles entry to Sonic's room.

"Well, you sure took your time, Tails," said Sonic.

"Sonic!"

The kitsune ran in and embraced his older brother figure.

"Hey, buddy. Been a while, huh? 'Sup, Knuckles!" Sonic called out, waving a hand to the echidna.

Knuckles walked in and shook Sonic's hand.

"It's good to see ya," Knuckle replied.

Siris stayed by the door, watching the trio reunite for the first time in months.

"Man, Sonic," Knuckles stated, "you look like crap."

Sonic took a look at himself.

"Yeah, I've seen better days," he replied.

"So, what happened, Sonic? You told me you were going to wait for me by that abandoned base. When me and Knuckles arrived, you weren't there," said Tails.

"Tails… boy do I have a story for you."

Knuckles sighed.

"Oh, this is gonna be great. What happened?" he asked.

"Well," Sonic began.

"Sonic?"

Sonic's eyes widened and his ears perked up. Everyone turned their heads toward the source of the voice.

"Sonic?"

"Amy?"

Amy slowly walked towards Sonic.

"Sonic… you're… you're awake."

Amy stopped right next to him.

"Uh… hey, Amy… long time-"

"Sonic!" Amy exclaimed, overcome joy…

 ***WHAM***

 ***THUD***

…before uncontrollably leaping into Sonic and causing the two to fall off the bed.

"Sonic! You're awake!" Amy cried out as she repeatedly kissed Sonic's cheek.

"Ow… yeah, hey, Amy… I've missed you too…" Sonic replied, lying on his back with Amy on top.

 **Don't… just don't.**

"So much for not stressing him out," Siris sighed as he rubbed his forehead.

Amy kept hugging and kissing Sonic for the next minute.

"Alright, that's enough, you two," said Siris as he entered the room, "Sonic, you need to rest. Amy, please don't stress him."

"Sorry, Siris," Amy replied as she got herself up, "Are you alright, Sonic?"

Sonic got himself up and hopped back into bed.

"I'm fine, Amy. Just a bit surprised to see you here," he explained, "Wait…"

Sonic turned to Siris and gave him a look.

"Did you tell her?"

Siris put his hands up.

"Don't blame me, I didn't do it."

Tails tapped Sonic on the shoulder.

"That was me, Sonic… sorry."

Sonic blinked a couple of times.

"Why did you tell her?"

"Well, I thought she should know. I mean, it's not like you've been talking to her… or any of us, really, these past months," Tails explained.

Sonic sighed.

"I appreciate the thought, Tails. But I don't want Amy to-"

"To what, Sonic the Hedgehog!?" Amy asked, "Worry about you?"

"Well… yeah, but-"

"Sonic, I always worry about you. Those messages you leave me don't make me feel any better! If I wanted to only hear your voice, I would try calling you just to hear your voice recording!"

"Amy, I-"

"You never want to talk to me! Or Tails! Or Silver or Cream or anyone!"

Sonic kept his mouth shut and listened. Amy started to cry.

"Why are you so focused on finding Eggman, Sonic? We're you planning on arresting him? Or…"

Amy stopped herself, unable to ask if Sonic would do the impossible. She buried her face in her hands.

"Or what, Amy?" Sonic asked.

Amy collapsed onto Sonic and buried her face into his chest, mumbling something.

"What? I couldn't understand what you said, Amy."

Amy lifted her head and looked into Sonic's emerald-green eyes.

"Where planning on killing Eggman?"

Everyone was shocked to hear that question, including Siris. The room fell silent for a moment.

"No."

"… Then why?"

Sonic sighed.

"I'm not looking for Eggman anymore."

"Huh?"

"What do you mean, Sonic?" Tails asked.

"Did you find him?" asked Knuckles.

Sonic shook his head and sighed.

"I guess I'll start at the beginning," he explained.

Just as Sonic was about to begin his story, everyone heard the clinic front door slam open. Siris turned to see who it was.

"Hey, will you… oh, hey, you made it. No, stay quiet. Come here and don't make a sound," said Siris.

Sonic and his friends were wondering what was going on.

"Uh… what are you doing, Siris?" Knuckles asked.

Siris turned and smiled.

"Oh, nothing. Just letting the two guys that brought Sonic to me come visit him."

Knuckles and Amy were not so thrilled to hear this.

"How do you know they weren't the ones who beat up Sonic?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah, why should they be allowed to see Sonic?" Amy added.

Siris gave a small chuckle and allowed the two visitors to enter.

"Why would they do that?" Siris asked.

 **[ Nightcore Time Trials Plus ]** (Uploaded by MortonDude) (0:00) **(I love this song)**

Tails and Amy didn't know who the two were, but Sonic and Knuckles knew immediately. The first visitor walked up to Sonic with a grin and offered out his left hand. Sonic was reeling, unable to shake his hand. The second visitor, who Knuckles didn't recognize, walked up next to his partner and offered out his right hand to Sonic. After a moment, a smile crept upon Sonic's face.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it, Sonic?" the first asked.

"Almost 10 years," the second added.

As Sonic clasped the two hands, he cried out their names.

"Mighty! Ray!"

Memories of the past rushed into Sonic's mind. He remembered when Eggman captured him, Mighty, and Ray and took them to Eggman Island…

 _The three broke free from their prison cell…_

 _A ball of lava chased after them as the floor erupted in flames around them…_

 _A geyser sent them high into the air…_

 _Mighty saved Sonic and Ray from desert sinkholes…_

 _Sonic dragged Mighty and Ray at high speeds to get away from a rolling cylinder of gears trying to crush them…_

 _Ray glided across the collapsing rock structures as Sonic and Mighty hung on to his legs…_

 _Mighty and Ray helped Sonic swim out of the water systems and avoided the trailing turbine fans…_

 _The three made their way through Eggman's Tower, avoiding traps and dodging obstacles…_

 _Their confrontation with Eggman and escape from the exploding island…_

 _Their brief reunion when Sonic saved Mighty and Ray on Angel Island…_

And now, after nine long years, the three have once again reunited.

 **(Wait for music to end)**

"I can't believe you guys are here!" Sonic exclaimed, "How did you find me?!"

"Yeah, well, we we're just wandering around the forest, exploring, when we heard loud noises coming from the distance. As we got closer, a huge shockwave hit us and sent me and Ray into the bushes."

"We got ourselves back up and explored further in. We reached a clearing with a weird building and saw you lying on the ground. That's when we brought you here," Ray explained.

Might felt an arm wrap around his neck. He turned his head right and saw Knuckles standing next to him.

"Long time, no see, Mighty."

"Same to you, Knuckles," Mighty replied as the two bumped fists.

 **Yeah, I'm a sucker for Sonic Mania… perfected the game and beat Encore mode.**

Tails and Amy just stood there, wondering who these guys were.

"Uh… the best friend is lost here," said Tails.

"Same here," said Amy.

Everyone turned their attention to the two.

"Oh, right," said Sonic, "You two haven't met Mighty and Ray before."

Sonic got up from his bed, waving off Siris when he was about to warn Sonic against it.

"Allow me to introduce everyone," Sonic announced, "Tails, Amy. This is Mighty the Armadillo."

"How's it goin'?" said the crimson red armadillo, holding out a hand, "Nice to meet you guys."

"Likewise," Tails and Amy replied as they shook his hand.

Sonic turned to Knuckles.

"Didn't know you were friends with Mighty, Knuckles," said Sonic.

"I could say the same to you," Knuckles smirked, "But I don't know who his buddy is."

Sonic turned to Ray.

"Right. Tails, Amy. This is Ray the Flying Squirrel," said Sonic.

"Hi," said the **(NCS/Natural Color System)** yellow squirrel, waving to them.

Tails, Knuckles, and Amy waved to him.

"Mighty, Ray. This is my best friend, Miles Prower, but everyone calls him 'Tails'. This is Knuckles, guardian of the Master Emerald. And this is Amy Rose…"

Amy glared at Sonic when he paused.

"…my girlfriend," he smirked, winking and making her happy.

"Well, it's a pleasure meeting you all," said Ray.

"Same here," said Mighty.

"I still can't believe you guys are here!" Sonic exclaimed, "What are you guys doing here?"

Mighty and Ray grinned at each other and pointed their thumbs behind them. The other four Mobians followed the direction.

"Siris?" they gaped.

Siris stared at them with a straight face for a few seconds before smiling.

"What? A guy can't have friends?" he said, grinning.

Sonic couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are the odds? My two old pals, who I haven't even spoken to in years, being frineds with a doctor who saves my life."

Siris stopped smiling and sighed.

"Well, Sonic… there's more."

"Huh? There's more?!" he asked.

"Yeah. You see, there's a reason why-"

A loud knock from the front door interrupted Siris.

"Heh, saved by the knock," Siris joked, "I'll be right back. It's probably a patient who made an appointment."

Siris left the room and answered the door. To his surprise no one was there.

" _Wait… why would someone be knocking if the door's unlocked?"_

The knocking was heard again, only it sounded like it was coming from the right of the door.

" _My home?"_

Siris stepped outside and saw four large robots standing in front of his home.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" he called out to them.

The robots turned their attention to Siris and walked towards him. Siris' eyes went wide when he saw what they looked like. They marched up to him and stopped in front of him. Siris looked up at the towering robots; they were twice his height.

"Can I help you?"

One of them, a slightly different looking robot stepped up.

" _Must be the leader."_

"Do you know where Sonic the Hedgehog is?"

Siris glared at it.

" _Really? Now?"_

"Sonic the Hedgehog?" Siris asked, "Hmm… don't think I do…"

"We have data the proves that he's been here," the lead robot stated, "It would be in your best interest if you tell us everything you know."

" _Time to play."_

"Really? Where did you get your information? The local newspaper?" Siris smirked.

"Our sources are not of your concern! Now tell us what we want!"

One of the other robots was doing a scan of Siris.

"Well, there's no… wait, who are you looking for?"

"Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Siris blankly stared at the robot.

"Phonics the edge dog?"

The robot raised its right arm as it warped into a projectile weapon of some kind.

"Don't play games, fool! I'm asking you for the last time: Where is Sonic the Hedgehog?!" it shouted.

Siris remained unfazed.

"Really? If you shoot me, you'll never find him," he stated with a raised brow.

The robot that was scanning Siris was beginning to panic.

"Uh, sir?" it asked its leader.

"Not now!" he shouted before focusing back to Siris, "So, you think we need you alive to get information out of you, do you?"

"Sir, if I may-"

"Interupt me again and I'll make sure our lord scraps you for insubordination!" the leader threatened.

"But-"

Siris rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Hey, I'm still here. Can you two married couple take this somewhere else? I have patients to care for,"

The leader turned back to Siris.

"How about… I just kill you now?" the robot said as it charged its weapon.

"Siris, get down!" Knuckles shouted.

Siris dropped the to ground just as a crimson blur shot over his head, crashing into the robot leader and the three other units and sending them flying a few feet back. Mighty landed a couple of feet away from Siris. He walked up and helped Siris to his feet.

"Thanks," said Siris.

"No problem," said Mighty, "Nice throw, Knuckles! Just like old times!"

Knuckles gave Mighty a thumbs up as Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Ray appeared from the patient room.

"What's going on, guys?" Tails asked.

Sonic looked outside and saw the robots.

"SWAT-bots?!" he cried out, "That's something I haven't seen in years. Not what I wanted to see again though."

"Target acquired!" the leader stated.

Siris turned to Sonic. He saw the speedster's look in his eye.

"Sonic, don't. You're still recovering from before," Siris reminded him.

"Come on, Siris. What's a couple of-"

"Sonic," Amy interrupted.

Sonic turned to Amy and saw the scared look in her eyes.

"Let Knuckles and Mighty handle it. I can't bare to think of what could happen if you hurt yourself again, or worse!" she begged.

Sonic sighed.

"Fine," he said, before turning to Knuckles, "You and Mighty got this?"

Knuckles raised his fists, which now bore his Hammer Gloves.

"We'll smash them to smithereens!"

As Knuckles walked towards the clinic entrance, no one noticed the robot leader charging the unsuspecting Mighty from behind.

"Mighty!" Sonic exclaimed, "Look out!"

But it was too late. The leader swung its damaged weapon across Mighty's back.

 ***WHAM***

 **[ Shut Up Faker! [Sonic vs. Shadow] – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Everyone gasped, except Siris who turned to Mighty before he was hit. Seconds went by, but Mighty seemed fine. In fact, he seemed completely unfazed. Mighty, with a very annoyed expression on his face, cracked his neck in both directions and slowly turned his head towards the robot leader, who was still towering over him.

"Uh oh," Siris and Knuckles smirked.

"What?" Sonic and Tails asked simultaneously.

Within a second, Mighty had picked up one of the waiting room chairs sitting next to him, swung it at the robot and sending it flying back into the other three **again** , and then heaved it at the robotic heap. Knuckles laughed as Mighty wiped his hands.

"That's what," Siris explained to the others.

As Knuckles and Mighty walked side by side outside, the robots got back up and into battle positions.

"I've had enough of this humiliation!" the leader roared, "You three! Take out those two red baboons!"

"Yes sir!" the three acknowledged.

The attack units charged toward Knuckles and Mighty.

 ***WHAM WHAM WHAM***

The punches from Knuckles and Mighty sent the robots flying back a couple of feet.

"Don't let them toy with you!" the leader exclaimed, "Kill them!"

The robots got back up. Through beeps and wireless communications, be came up with a plan in milliseconds. They turned back to the fighters and charged at them again.

"Heh, same as usual," Knuckles taunted, "They never learn."

However just as the robots were only a couple of feet away, blue electricity all to discharge all over the robots' arms. Knuckles and Mighty noticed just in time as the leapt away in different directions. One robot went after Mighty while the other two at Knuckles. Knuckles was dodging in every way possible to avoid the four robotic lightning fists that were moving at high speed.

" _Damn, these guys are fast. Sonic never mentioned this to me."_

Meanwhile, Mighty had only one to deal with. This SWAT-bot was slower than the other two, giving Mighty an advantage. His plated back made a great shield against attacks from behind and the robot was slow enough for Mighty to read its attacks from the sides or the front to dodge.

" _I think I can get a couple of hits in when this hunk of junk attacks me head on!"_

As the robot attacked Mighty, he watched its attack patterns and waited for the right moment. During one of the robot's swings, Mighty stepped to the side and punched the robot directly in the midsection and sending it flying into the two robots attacking Knuckles.

"Thanks, Mighty."

Mighty winked and gave Knuckles a thumbs up.

"Weak," the SWAT-bot leader groaned, "Dagger unit, back to me!"

Two SWAT-bots got up and hurried to their leader.

"Where's Dagger 3?" the leader ordered.

The three robots turned towards the SWAT-bot still lying on the ground. It was the same one that was fighting Mighty. The leader took a step towards it before watching smoke and sparks fly our of Dagger 3. The damaged SWAT-bot began to flail wildly, almost like it was having a seizure, making beeping and ear-piercing noises. Suddenly, it stopped flailing and exploded, leaving behind no debris and a scorched mark on the ground.

"This is the last straw!" the leader roared, turning towards the red Mobians, "You two have forced my hand! Dagger unit, activate power core overdrive."

The two remaining Dagger unit robots did as they were told. A moment later, their hands and red eyes began to glow green. Knuckles sensed an energy spike within the vicinity. He put together what was happening and his eyes widened.

"You! You have pieces of the Master Emerald! Give them to me!" he ordered the robots.

The leader laughed and turned to Knuckles.

"Ah, Knuckles, you poor fool. Do you really believe we would give them up so easily?"

The two Dagger units turned to Knuckles and Mighty.

"End them now," the leader stated.

Before anyone could react, Knuckles and Mighty sent straight up into the air from an uppercut from the empowered robots. They were only stunned for a moment, but the robots were right in front of them just as they regained composure. As the robots attacked again, Knuckles drill clawed down and Mighty curled up into a ball and hammer dropped down. The robots attacked, but Knuckles and Mighty managed to get out of the way just in time, flying towards the ground. Unfortunately, the robots were too fast and they each grabbed a hold of them.

"H-hey! Let us go!" Mighty cried out.

Knuckles wailed away at his captor's head, but the power of the Master Emerald prevented any damage. Mighty was held above Knuckles and his captor slammed Mighty's head into Knuckles', knocking them both out.

"Knuckles! Mighty!" their friends cried out.

But it was too late. The two robots released their bodies and Knuckles and Mighty landed on the ground below. The robot leader laughed at the fallen Mobians' failure.

"Such amusement," he scoffed, "Kill them."

The two robots fell down to the ground and approached the unconscious duo. Suddenly, Tails ran in front of his fallen friends and confronted the robots.

"Well, isn't this just delightful?" the leader said, "The two tailed freak is trying to save his friends. Do he wish to die as well?"

Tails said nothing and glared at the robot leader.

"There's no use in threatening them; kill them all now!"

"Hey!" Sonic called out, "Leave them alone!"

"Sonic, what are you doing?" Amy asked.

"I'm not gonna stand here and let them get killed. If these guys want me, they can have me!"

Amy stood in Sonic's way, blocking the path with her arms out.

"No way, Sonic! We already almost lost you twice this past year! I'm not gonna lose you again!" she said sternly.

"Amy…" Sonic said softly, putting his hands on her shoulders, "I know. But I can't let that SWAT-butt get away with this."

Amy opened her mouth to protest, when a voice outside was heard.

"LIGHTNING!"

 _A couple of minutes earlier…_

Siris watched in horror as the remaining Dagger units powered up using shards of the Master Emerald.

" _Master Emerald shards? Don't tell me the Master Emerald's been destroyed again!"_

Siris looked around, making sure no one was watching him.

" _Looks like it's time to even the playing field."_

Siris quickly, but quietly, entered his home and closed the door behind him. He saw Sylvie was staring through the window, watching the fight.

"Sylvie?" Siris called to her with concern.

Sylvie turned to Siris. She was scared.

"Master?"

Siris hurried over to her.

"Find somewhere to hide. Things might get ugly out there," he told her.

Sylvie nodded and went off to her room. Siris waited until she was out of sight before heading towards his desk. He reached under and pressed the secret button underneath. The drawer next to him opened.

" _No click? Never mind, later."_

Siris reached inside and grabbed the white tape and rings. He sat down on the chair, closing the drawer with his right foot, and quickly put the metal rings on his wrists. He then quickly wrapped some tape around his shoes, lower leg, hands, and wrists. He had to take off his communicator for a moment while taping his right wrist.

"Knuckles! Mighty!" he heard screaming from the clinic.

"No going back now…" Siris sighed as he put his goggles on.

He got up and headed for the front door. He opened the door and walked outside, noticing Tails standing in front of a now unconscious Knuckles and Mighty. Siris pointed an arm at each of the empowered SWAT-bots and fired a wire from each bracelet at them.

"LIGHTNING!" he shouted, just as the wires attached to the robots.

Sonic, Tails, Amy, Ray, and the SWAT-bot leader watched as electrical current traveled from the wrist-mounted wire grapples and shocking the robots.

"Now, Tails!" Sonic called out.

"Huh?" said Tails.

"Grab the Master Emerald shards!" Ray called out.

"Uh, right!" Tails replied and ran up to the stunned robots.

The shock was strong enough to force open the compartment where the shards were being held in both robots. Tails managed to grab the shard from the first robot, but the second managed to close its compartment before Tails had a chance to remove it.

"Tails! Grab Knuckles and Mighty!" Siris called out.

Tails turned back to Knuckles and Mighty. Knuckles was starting to wake back up, but Mighty remained still. Tails offered Knuckles a hand.

"Thanks, Tails. I can still figh- Uggh…"

Knuckles turned to his left should and noticed it was dislocated.

"Don't push yourself, Knuckles," said Tails, "We need to get you and Mighty inside."

"But, I must protect-"

"You three, get inside now!" Siris ordered.

"But…"

"Come on, Knuckles. Help me carry Mighty back inside," said Tails.

Knuckles wasn't sure what Siris was thinking.

"Trust me," Siris smirked.

Knuckles sighed.

"Just get me those shards back!"

Siris nodded as he watched Tails and Knuckles carry Mighty into the clinic. He then turned his attention back to the three remaining robots.

"Why don't we make a deal?" Siris suggested, "You give Knuckles the other Master Emerald shard and tell us who your 'lord' is, and maybe we let you go."

The SWAT-bot leader and green-eyed robot laughed uncontrollably.

"What makes you think you are in any position to be making demands with us?" the leader questioned.

The third robot, who was now terrified, tapped its leader's shoulder.

"Sir, you need to see this," he insisted.

"Enough! Dagger 1, crush this weak pathetic doctor, now!"

Dagger 1 charged straight at Siris as Sonic and the others watched helplessly. Amy turned away.

"DRILL!"

Dagger 1 sent a fist towards Siris, but ended up just swinging at air. It looked around confused.

"What? What sorcery is this?" the leader demanded.

"Sir, I'm sending you a file. You must read it!" Dagger 2 pleaded, "That hedgehog…"

The leader turned to Dagger 2.

"What about him?" he questioned as he processed the file downloaded to his databanks.

A few milliseconds later, the leader turned back to where Dagger 1 was standing. Upon closer inspection, the leader realized the ground where Siris was now a small hole.

"No… oh, no! Dagger 1, retreat now!"

Dagger 1 turned to face its leader, but it was too late. The earth beneath Dagger 1 opened up and Siris erupted out of the ground, his hands now taking the form of two giant yellow drills. As he emerged from the ground, Siris sent his right fist/drill straight towards Dagger 2's head, sending it flying up in the air. The drills disappeared and Siris shot a wire at the flying robot. The moment the wire went taut, he yanked the wire and pulled the robot back to the ground.

 ***CLANG***

The robot landed at the feet of its leader but remained unscathed. It got itself back up and the three robots got into formation.

"So… you are the one responsible for his death," the leader growled, "You must be honored."

"If only it were so," Siris smirked.

"No matter," the leader continued, "Together, the three of us will take you down!"

Siris scratched his ear.

"Down where?" he joked.

"How about to Hell?" the leader suggested.

"Oh, how thoughtful of you guys," Siris mocked, "Let me show you how much that offer means to me."

Siris held his arms out to his sides and released the wires. Once they were about six feet out in length, he grabbed the wires and held them out like they were whips.

"You think your abilities will save you?" the leader taunted.

"Nope," Siris remarked, "but they will destroy you."

Siris dashed towards the squad at Mach speed.

"CUBE!"

At the end of each wire, a blue hammer head formed.

 **[ Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric Trailer BGM – Frantic (3 loop edit) ]** (Uploaded by LimzCHX) (0:00)

Siris swung his left whip across his body, smashing the left hammer in the squad of robots. The leader and Dagger 2 slid across the ground while Dagger 1 immediately recovered and dashed towards its attacker. Siris then spun counterclockwise and swung both hammers toward the robot. The hammers were moving too fast for the robot to react and it was sent flying into a large tree that was standing 25 feet away. The blue hammers disappeared as Siris retracted the wires and ran straight to Dagger 1.

"LIGHTNING!"

Siris' fists began to glow a pale-yellow color and electrical sparks erupted around them. Dagger 1 got back up onto its feet just as Siris reached it. Before it could attack, Siris began punching the robot all over its body. The electric strikes sent high voltage shocks through the metal body, more powerful than before. Siris' fists were moving so fast, Dagger 1 couldn't do anything to defend itself. Each blow amplified the shock intensity. The robot couldn't handle the high amount of charge and began to malfunction. The compartment door flew open and with one final blow, Siris knocked the robots head off and grabbed the Emerald shard. He backflipped off the beaten robot, flying a few feet back as the robot exploded.

"This is… impossible… retreat!" the SWAT-bot leader ordered.

"I don't think so."

The leader swung its broken weapon around behind him, but missed Siris. A small whirlwind began to form around the remaining two robots. A moment later, Siris jumped toward Dagger 2 and kicked it into the leader. The two didn't notice Siris again running around them before he kicked the leader into Dagger 2. Again and again he did this. Dagger 2, now completely terrified, began to swing its arms into the whirlwind, desperately trying to make the hedgehog go away. Unfortunately for it, Siris was waiting for that moment. As Dagger 2 swung its arm again, Siris lept onto its head and grabbed it by the neck. The constant contact sent an unbelievable amount of current coursing through the robot's head, overloading its circuits and literally melting away components. Siris released the robot and spin-dashed midair back towards the clinic entrance. As the whirlwind seceded, Dagger 2 fell forward to the ground and blew up. The leader was now horrified by the events before it. It stared at Siris with disbelief before turning around to escape.

"And where do you think you're going?"

A wire wrapped around the SWAT-bot's neck and a jerk forced it to its knees.

"We're going for a ride!"

Siris grabbed the wire with both hands and began to spin around like a top, dragging the robot along the ground. Faster and faster he spun; soon causing the robot to float above the ground.

"Here's a message for your boss!" Siris shouted.

The robot turned its head to him.

"Stay away from me and my friends!" he threatened.

Siris stopped spinning and yanked the robot over his head, slamming it into the ground. Then he did it again. And again. The robot became more and more warped and damaged with each attack. Sparks were flying from all over its body. After a forth blow, Siris stopped.

"SPIKES!"

Along the wire, ultra-pink colored spikes appeared. With a strong pull, Siris ripped the head off the leader. As the wire retracted, the spikes disappeared, and the drained robot body fell forward. Siris wiped under his nose and smirked.

"Heh, I've still got it."

 **(Wait for music to finish)**

Siris took a deep breath and sighed.

"You know… it's kinda rude to just stand there and stare at someone like that," he joked before turning to Sonic and the others.

By now, Mighty had woken up and had seen a majority of the fight. While everyone else was dumbfounded, Sonic's gaping mouth slowly changed into a smirk. He slowly walked up to Siris and extended out his hand.

"And now it all comes full circle," Sonic remarked.

"Yes," Siris replied, shaking his hand, "it does indeed."

"Didn't recognize you at first. You know, black shoes and gloves, no bandages…"

"Oh, I understand. I'm just surprised you didn't put it together sooner."

Everyone else just looked at each other with confused looks.

"Sonic," Amy called out, "do you know this guy?"

Sonic turned back to his friends.

"Guys, I'd like you to meet the guy who helped me defeat Julian 10 years ago."

Tails' eyes widened.

"Wait, Sonic… are you saying this is…"

"Yup. This is 'Wisps'. The one who helped me defeat the Doomsday Project."

As the surprise bombshell exploded, Siris took off his goggles, revealing the light blue aura glowing from his irises.

"I don't go by that nickname anymore," Siris explained.

He walked up to the group and extended out his right hand.

"Siris the Hedgehog. Former slave and Julian's executioner."

* * *

 **Sonic: Oh…**

 **Tails: My…**

 **Knuckles: God.**

 **Me: Oh, come on, you just NOW figured it out? It took you another… *checks number of words* another 27 thousand words to figure it out?**

 **Sonic: Well, I kinda already suspected… wait, how many words?**

 **Me: *Dawns on realization* Uh…**

 ***All four look at the number of words***

 **Me: Holy crap…**

 **Tails: That explains why it took you longer to post another chapter…**

 **Me: Oops. Well, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Follow, Review, do all the good stuff… please? 27 views total thus far and not one review? Please?**

 ***Sonic rolls his eyes***

 **Sonic: Aw, give it time, buddy. Well until next time! Bye**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **More trivia! Eggmanland has been spelt in different ways across all versions of Sonic Unleashed: Eggmanland, Eggman Land, Eggman-Land. However, I believe the correct way is Eggmanland.**

 **Heh, heh… oh, what's this? A super long chapter? Why, I must be dreaming! Ok, so… I now realize that I suck at determining how long each chapter might end up being, so I'll just say this: I can promise you that each chapter will be at least 15k words or more. Now that I think about it, I might end up revising this entire story once it's complete, moving a couple of sections around between chapters, I dunno…**

 **Anyways, I forgot to mention; since the world map across all the Sonic games don't agree with each other (i.e. Sonic Adventure 2, Sonic Unleashed, Sonic Forces) assume that Green Hills/Sand Hills and the City (Forces) are on South Island. Just go with it. The gist of locations (like Apotos, Spagonia, Station Square, and the Mystic Ruins) roughly remain the same, conceptually. Long story short (across all mentioned in Prologue/Chapter 1), all areas from Angel Island in the games are on Angel Island, same goes for West Side Island from Sonic 2 and the rest of the games that took place on islands. All the other games, just use your imagination to stitch every single location together in the most reasonable way possible… no don't put Mazuri next door to Holoska, or Soleanna right in the middle of the remains of Prison Island… oops, spoiler, maybe~…**

 **One last thing, if you do happen to find anything grammatically incorrect, please let me know. I'm very OCD when it comes to grammar. Not perfect grammar, but if there's a word missing or something, let me know.**

 **Anyways, hope you guys liked this chapter! I think it's safe to say I will be uploading one chapter at least once a month or so, hopefully 6 weeks at most. That said, enjoy, favorite, review, and I'll see ya next time!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	4. Chapter 4: A New Friend?

**Me: Welcome back to another exciting addition to my first ever fanfiction story: Downfall and Redemption.**

 **Sonic: You know, I've been wondering.**

 **Me: About what Sonic?**

 **Sonic: Why are you always wearing an oversized trench coat and ski mask?**

 **Me: Anonymity.**

 ***Sonic glares***

 **Sonic: I don't buy it.**

 **Me: Well, sucks for you. And don't try to touch me, I'll kill you off if you do.**

 **Sonic: Oh, really?**

 **Me: No, but I might ruin your relationship with Amy.**

 **Sonic: You wouldn't!**

 **Me: Try me.**

 **Sonic: Uh…**

 **Me: Smart move. Now, on with the story!**

 **Sonic: What about the disclaimer?**

 **Me: Screw it, I wanna get straight to the story. Pretty sure it's self-evident now about what characters are mine.**

 **Sonic: Don't you mean "character"?**

 **Me: Oh, you'll see…**

 **3 Weeks Later…**

 **Me: Okay, so here's the deal, I was about 75% done with this chapter… and then the Great Relentless Cough of 2018 occurred. Long story short, I tried to write through it, made it hard to focus, ended up hating how I ended the chapter. Then, worst part, I accidentally deleted half the story. So, I spent a couple of days rewriting the last 50%. And here we are. Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving.**

 **Team Sonic: Way to go…**

 **Me: I could have abandoned this story…**

 **Team Sonic: We love you.**

 **Me: Alright, let's not make this weird. On with the story!**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **I'm shocked at the increase in views I got within the first 2 hours of uploading Chapter 3. I'm guessing it's a fluke and means nothing, but I'll take what I can get. I really hope you guys are enjoying my way of writing. To be honest, about 10% of the time I spend on this fanfic is looking for good music to go with the scenes. I wonder if any of you are actually listening to those tracks while reading…**

 **Well, in any case, enjoy!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**

 ***Update 11/30/18* Replaced one of the songs.**

 ***Update 1/9/19* Removed most of A/N in intro.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: A New Friend?**

 _Siris' Clinic_

 **[ Sleeping Music, Calming Music, Music for Stress Relief, Relaxation Music, 8 Hour Sleep Music, 3257 ]** (Uploaded by YellowBrickCinema – Relaxing Music) (0:00)

The air was filled with soft whistling of the wind. No one dared say anything after what had just transpired.

"Siris the Hedgehog. Former slave and Julian's execution," Siris smirked.

For a moment, no one moved, too stunned by the news.

"What? Never seen someone use color powers before?" Siris joked.

Tails blinked a few times and shook his head.

"'Wisps'… you're him?" he asked.

"Yes, hello, name's Siris, formerly 'Wisps', I believe I just introduced myself for the second time, Tails."

Tails walked up and shook Siris' hand.

"Well, it's nice to finally meet you!"

"Likewise."

Siris turned towards Mighty and Ray.

"Why are you two surprised? You've seen me fight before," Siris told them.

"You've never told us you were a slave before," Ray pointed out.

"Eh," Siris shrugged, "fair enough. I just didn't want to be-"

"You were a slave of Julian Robotnik!?" Knuckles asked.

"How did that happen?" asked Amy.

"Did you really kill him?" asked Tails.

Siris sighed as he was bombarded with questions.

"That's why," he told Ray.

"Why didn't-" Mighty began asking.

"Enough!" Siris cried out.

Everyone went silent.

"Thank you. Now, I could spend all day telling you guys my life story since I was 10 years old, but I'm not gonna," he explained.

"Why?" asked Sonic.

"One: we've just met again after over 10 years; two: I have patients coming in soon for an appointment…"

"Well, we can wait until later," Sonic suggested.

"And three: I'm freakin' exhausted after that fight."

Sonic gave Siris a look.

"Really? If I weren't hurt, I would have mopped those guys up in no time without breaking a sweat," he remarked.

"Yeah, well you don't have color power abilities, do you?"

"Well, with the help of Wisps I do," Sonic smirked.

Everyone gave Sonic a confused look.

"He's referring to the aliens, not me," Siris explained, clarifying Sonic's statement to them, "Sonic, I don't need Wisps to harness the color powers."

Sonic was now surprised.

"Really? How?"

"Like I said," Siris sighed, "I'm exhausted. Maybe I'll tell you guys about myself some other time. Right now, I think we should check you, Knuckles, and Mighty out for injuries."

Unbeknownst to Siris, Sylvie had been watching the entire scene; from Siris fighting off the SWAT-bot squad up to now. She couldn't hear the conversation outside, but she saw everything. From the window, she just stared at Siris, both shocked and amazed by his abilities.

" _Master is so brave. He moves so fast… and those colors…"_

Sylvie's heart began to beat a little harder. She watched as Siris and the others return inside the clinic before she went back to cleaning.

" _Master cares very much for others… does he care about me?"_

 **(Music fades)**

Back in the clinic, Siris was taking out Sonic's stitches.

"Siris, are you sure Sonic's healed enough to be discharged?" Amy asked.

"Well, to be honest, I only kept him overnight because I was worried he wouldn't wake up. Once he did, he could have left, but it was already late. He's no longer an emergency case," Siris explained.

"Sweet! I can't wait to check out that Eggman base," exclaimed Sonic, earning him a look of disapproval from Siris.

"What did I tell you before?" Siris asked.

"I know, I know, to remain calm and relax. But it's just an abandoned Eggman base, what's the harm in just looking around?" Sonic asked.

Tails and Amy shook their heads while Knuckles gave a chuckle.

"What?" the cobalt blue hedgehog asked with a false smile.

"Sonic," said Tails, "we'll search the base, you'll be staying in our hotel room and resting."

"Aw, come on, Tails," Sonic argued, "I'm the one who found the base."

Tails sighed and whispered something to Amy. She smirked and walked up to Sonic.

"Sonic~…" she said sweetly.

"Uh… what is it, Amy?" Sonic asked, slightly nervous.

"If you stay in the hotel room, I'll make you chilidogs," she smirked.

"Tails, you better tell me what you find in that base," Sonic told him.

Tails smiled and gave his brother figure a thumbs up. Siris rolled his eyes.

"By the way, Sonic, what where you going to tell us before Mighty and Ray showed up?" Knuckles asked.

Sonic turned to Knuckles, slightly confused.

"Huh? Oh, right! Well, I won't go into too much detail, but I'll be brief," said Sonic.

"Uh… I'll remove the last stitch later, Sonic," said Siris, "I don't think I should-"

"No, it's fine, Siris. You can stay and listen," said Sonic.

"Are you sure? I mean, I don't really know any of you guys…"

"Hey, you proved yourself over 10 years ago. I'm fine with it," Sonic explained.

"Well, only if everyone else is-"

"I'm fine with it," the others all said at once, surprising themselves.

"Well, alright, then," said Siris, "Begin."

"Alright, so as some of you know, after we beat Egghead and Infinite a few months ago, I went off searching for Eggman. At first, there was no sign of him anywhere. Station Square, Mystic Ruins, the Acorn Kingdom, or even-"

"Wait," Tails interrupted, 'you went back to the Acorn Kingdom?"

"Yeah," said Sonic, "And before you ask, no, I didn't see Sally or anyone of the others, Tails. I wasn't there for a social visit."

Tails sighed.

"Anyways, I searched many locations, all with the same result. No Eggman. After nearly six months of searching, I began to think that maybe he really was forever trapped in Null Space. I was almost ready to give up on my wasted journey. Or so I thought..."

Everyone braced for the twist.

"What happened, Sonic? Did you find Eggman?" Mighty asked.

Sonic sighed.

"Yes and no."

"Huh?" everyone said.

"About two weeks ago, I was passing through Spagonia, and, heh, you'll get a kick out of this," Sonic smirked.

"What happened?" Amy asked.

"I was grabbing a bite to eat when Orbot and Cubot came running up to me."

Sonic paused and watched his friends' reactions.

"Yeah, shocking, I know. They were ranting on and on about something involving Eggman. They claimed he was kidnapped."

Everyone remained silent; Sonic was half expecting someone to ask a question.

"Keep going, Sonic," said Siris, "We'll ask questions after you've finished your story."

Sonic nodded.

"So, at first, I didn't believe them, thinking this was some pathetic attempt Eggman had come up with to capture me. But then Orbot gave me a voice recorded message from the one who took Eggman. Here, I have it…"

Sonic reached into his inventory and his eyes went wide.

"Wait, did I drop it…? Wait, where's-"

"Oh," said Siris, "I know what you're referring to Sonic. That was me. Here."

Siris reached into his inventory and pulled out a voice recorder, Sonic's bracelet, and…

"That's a Chaos Emerald!" everyone but the two blue hedgehogs exclaimed.

They stared in awe and disbelief at the yellow gem held in Siris' hand.

"Hey, don't look at me; Sonic had it on him when he came in."

Everyone turned and stared at Sonic with confusion.

"Uh… I'll get to that in a sec. Thanks for holding on to my things, Siris."

"No problem," said Siris as he handed Sonic's possessions over to him.

"So, what's on there?" asked Amy, pointing to the voice recording as Sonic put his bracelet back on.

Sonic pressed the play button.

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) **(Loop it multiple times)**

" _ **Hello, Sonic the Hedgehog,"**_ said a dark voice, _ **"It's been a long time. If you are hearing this, than that means those two talking jack-in-the-boxes have managed to find you. I understand that you are searching for Ivo Robotnik, or 'Dr. Eggman' as everyone calls him now. Well, I'm afraid you won't find him. I have taken him someplace you will never find, no matter how hard you search the planet. Oh, don't worry, I'm not going to kill him. Not yet, at least. No, I have use of him and his armies. I will warn you, in the coming weeks, I will unleash a force the likes of which have never been seen before. I will raze the cities and salt the Earth. You think what Eggman did months ago was bad? Ha! I will make that appear to be mere child's play. I know you will try and stop me, but you won't succeed. And when you fail, I will find every one of your little friends, and before your eyes torture them in ways you couldn't even imagine possible-"**_

" _ **DON'T LISTEN TO HIM, SONIC!"**_ cried out the voice of Eggman, _**"You've beaten him before, you can do it agai- RRRAAAHHH!"**_

" _ **Well, if you wanted proof of life, you've got it, hedgehog. And it's true, you have beaten me before. But know this, even if you found the seven Chaos Emeralds, you couldn't even come within 100 miles of me. Enjoy the time you have left, 'hero'. Because your world will soon be mine!"**_

Just as the message finished, the recorder began to beep.

"Huh? What's it doing?" Tails asked.

Suddenly, another message began to play.

" _ **Sonic… it's me."**_

"That's Eggman's voice," said Knuckles.

" _ **If my calculations are correct, this message should be playing once you have played the first one a second time, when you return to your friends and have them listen. I don't have much time and there's so much to tell you. I don't know who kidnapped me or where I am. Don't bother looking until you have all the Chaos Emeralds. There are others serving him, Sonic. Dangerous enemies. Even my own creations have turned their backs on me. The only ones I have left are Orbot and Cubot. Even Metal Sonic has bowed down to this person. Listen to me, I know you can find the Emeralds. We may all agree that finding them within the planet's core is an impossible task, but know this: even though I despise you, I know you're the only one who can overcome the odds and find a way."**_

"Touching," Sonic muttered."

" _ **There's more. I overheard this… 'Lord', as they call them, talk about sleeper agents in this world. At first, I thought he was referring to just simple robots strategically planted all over the planet. I was wrong. And it gets worse. I've been going through the blueprint designs for their robot army. Sonic, these plans were made by my uncle, Julian, over 10 years ago! I don't know if you ever knew, but my uncle had a similar plan made during his reign. He never went through with it because it was heavily flawed and was impossible to fool anyone. I'm sure you remember that Sally android? That was a test for the plan. And it failed, miserably. I was never told everything my uncle had ever planned nor did I care after he was killed. However, if he had secret locations where he could have hidden in case he ever needed to go into hiding, he would have also stored old plans there. You must find as many bases as possible and destroy all the data you find. Don't trust anything you find, they could end up doing more harm to you and the Resistance than you might think."**_

"So much for that plan," Tails said sadly.

" _ **And… *background noises* I'm running out of time. Listen Sonic, trust no one but your family and close friends. Don't trust anyone else, not even G.U.N.; they've been compromised, and they don't even know it. You can trust Team Dark; Shadow, Rouge, and Omega will never betray you. There's one person you must find. I don't remember his name, but he was-"**_

The message cut out. Everyone just stood in silence, taking in the disturbing news.

 **(Music fades)**

"Whoa…" said Siris.

"Yeah," said Sonic, "That's scary stuff. I mean, sleeper agents? Who knows how much harm even one of those things could do. Shame we don't know who Eggman was gonna tell me to find."

"I guess that's more the reason to check out that base, right Tails?" said Knuckes.

"Right!"

Tails paused and turned to Sonic.

"Sonic, why didn't you tell us about the message days ago?" he asked his friend.

"Like I said before, I didn't know if this was a part of Eggman's plan or not. Now we know."

"But, where does the Chaos Emerald come into the story?" asked Ray.

"Let me finish my story, Ray. That message from Eggman… I don't think this is his plan, I think we have a real threat… we'll focus on that later; back to the story. Just as I finished listening to the first message, I went to ask Orbot and Cubot some questions, but then a SWAT-bot appeared out of nowhere and took off with the two. It flew off into the distance before I could have a chance to run after it."

"That's one fast SWAT-butt," said Siris.

"Yeah, you're telling me," said Sonic, "So for the past two weeks, I've been searching in the general direction the SWAT-bot flew off to. At the time, I still wasn't sure if it was a part of Eggman's plan or not. Then three days I found a base. Called Tails, waited a couple of days, and then I was attacked by Metal Sonic and-"

"WHAT!?" Amy screamed.

"Amy," Siris said as he and everyone else removed their hands from their ears, "could you not make us all go deaf, please?"

"Sorry."

"Anyways, yes, it was Metal Sonic who attacked me. During the time I was waiting, I kept getting this feeling that someone was watching me. So, yesterday, after my nightly run, I called out to the darkness to see who was stalking me. And it turned out to be Metal Sonic. We fought, and it ended with Metal Sonic flying into the distance and me… well, ya know."

"That would explain a lot about the injuries you received," Siris deduced, "but where does the Chaos Emerald come into the story? I doubt you found it here in the clinic."

"No, I actually found it in the middle of the forest a couple of hours before I fought with Metal Sonic. Strange to find it just floating randomly in the forest. Usually I'd have to search in hidden areas like caves."

Tails thought about what Sonic told them.

"That is strange, Sonic. I mean, it's never been easy finding the Chaos Emeralds before. Did anything strange happen before you found the Emerald?"

Sonic thought for a moment.

"Now that you mention it, yeah. The morning before I was attacked, there was a small earthquake. Did anyone else feel it?"

Siris, Mighty, and Ray shook their heads.

"How early did this happen, Sonic?" Siris asked.

"I… don't remember the time, but it was definitely after sunrise."

"Well, I can say this," Siris claimed, "I was up well before sunrise and I didn't feel anything."

"Hm…" Sonic pondered.

His eyes shifted toward his bracelet. Siris noticed his gaze.

"Cool bracelet, Sonic," Siris commented, "Seems special to you."

"Yeah… it is," Sonic replied, smiling, "A friend gave it to me."

Siris stared at Sonic.

"Judging by the way you said that and your expression, I'm guessing that friend is no longer with us?" he asked.

"…In a way, yeah," said Sonic as he rubbed the green gemstone on his bracelet.

Suddenly, the gemstone began to glow, and the ground began to shake.

"Whoa… another earthquake!?" said Sonic.

Like before, it only lasted a few seconds, before everything was still. Everyone looked at Sonic with a questionable look.

"What? All I did was rub the gemstone for luck, like I did… right… before… the first… tremor. Oh."

"Well, now we know," said Knuckles, "so don't do it again."

"Maybe it would be best if you took that bracelet off, Sonic," Amy told Sonic quietly, "I understand how much Light- I mean, Chip meant to you, so if you don't want to take it off, you don't have to."

Sonic stared at the bracelet for a moment.

"Nah, I'll keep it on. I'll be careful not to cause another earthquake."

Everyone was quiet.

"…If that's your decision," said Siris, "then I won't force you otherwise. Just don't make me regret it."

Tails wasn't paying much attention to the conversation; he was looking at his Miles Electric tablet, scanning the area. Mighty and Ray walked over to him.

"Whatcha doin', Tails?" Ray asked.

Tails didn't answer and stayed focused on his scanner.

"Something wrong?" Mighty asked.

Still no reply.

"Uh, Earth to Tails?" Ray asked.

"Hello? Anyone home?" Mighty asked, giving Tails a "light" knock on the head.

"OW! MIGHTY!" Tails screamed.

"Oops. Sorry, buddy. I forget my own strength at times…" Mighty explained, with a nervous smile.

"Yeah, I know a lot about that," Ray muttered, rubbing his left shoulder.

 **Seriously, SEGA, make more Sonic Mania Adventures episodes. Please? Just shut up AND TAKE MY MONEY!**

"I was just trying to get your attention, that's all. You were ignoring our questions," Mighty continued.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I was scanning something," Tails explained, rubbing his head.

"Need an icepack? And what are you scanning?" Siris asked.

"No, and I was scanning the area for any Chaos Emeralds."

"Why? The things right here," Sonic smirked, holding up the Chaos Emerald.

 **[ Chaos Emerald – Sonic the Hedgehog (Genesis) Music ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Everyone looked around with confusion.

"Where did that music come from?" Siris asked.

After looking around for a few seconds, they all shrugged and turned back to Tails.

"Anyways, not that one, Sonic. I was just testing a theory."

"What is it?" Sonic asked as he put the Emerald away.

"Well… I could be just a huge coincidence…"

"Like our big unplanned reunion?" Siris joked.

"Uh… sure. What I meant to say was, maybe that gemstone and the Chaos Emeralds are somehow connected."

"How?" Sonic asked.

"Remember when Eggman unleashed Dark Gaia from the planet's core?"

"How could I not? I turned into a werehog! Took us a couple of weeks to fix the planet."

"Right… but remember what you told me when you and Chip went to each Temple of Gaia?"

Sonic thought for a moment.

"Oh, that's right! Every time Chip landed on the Chaos Emerald pedestals, his necklace would glow. Are you thinking that it can also summon the Chaos Emeralds when they're most needed?"

"I'm not sure. I mean, it could that. But like I said, it's just a theory. Besides, I'm not picking up any readings from the other Chaos Emeralds."

Sonic sighed.

"Well, so much for a cheesy way to find them," he said.

"You wish life was a video game, don't you?" Ray smirked.

"Well, looks like you've got another adventure on your hands, Sonic," Siris remarked.

"Yeah, can't wait to see what this 'lord' has in store for me!" Sonic exclaimed.

Siris raised a brow.

"After I rest for a couple of days, of course," Sonic added.

Siris smiled and nodded.

"Well, I see no reason for you to stay any long-"

"Well, well, well," said a voice from the doorway, "looks like the rumors are true."

Siris' eyes widened for a second before glaring with rage.

"Surprised to see me, 'Wisps'?"

Siris sighed.

"No… just disappointed," he replied as he got up and turned to the visitor, "And don't call me that… James."

 **[ Empire City Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Standing at the doorway was Siris' former friend, James the Mouse. The purple mouse was wearing a black suit and a pair of sunglasses.

"Why not? I'm the one who gave you that name, **'Wisps'** ," he mocked.

"Why are you here?" Siris asked.

"Oh, so you haven't heard? Sonic the Hedgehog and his friends are in town! And I was told I could find them here."

"Really? I was not aware of this. Must have just missed them. Guess I lucked out," Siris remarked sarcastically.

James chuckled as he tried to step around Sirs, who was blocking his way.

"You do know that I am now the new owner of the Hemberg Estate, don't you?"

Siris was a little surprised.

"You? Of all people?"

"Yes, well, it turns out I am the closest living relative of the Hemberg family line. Simply put, Charles Hemberg was my uncle from my mother's brother-in-law's second wife's side."

His beady eyes stared into Siris'.

"Did you catch all that?"

"If you mean your breath, then yes. Want a breath mint?"

"Oh, come now, 'Wisps', there's no need for this negativity. I'll admit I made some mistakes a couple of years ago, but-"

"Don't," Siris said sternly.

"Very well. Now, if you don't mind, as the new lord of the estate, I would like to give Sonic a welcome that a world-famous hero deserves."

Siris glared at James.

"Fine but make it quick. I have patients who are spreading the flu like wildfire, and you're causing delays."

Siris allowed James entry.

"Ah, Sonic the Hedgehog," James said, "it's such an honor to meet you. My name is James Hemberg, Lord of the Hemberg Estate, and I welcome you to our small town of Blue Moon Village. I wish circumstances were better."

James held out a hand.

" _Seriously? He already changed his last name to 'Hemberg'?"_ Siris thought to himself.

"Thank you, Mr. Hemberg," said Sonic as he shook his hand, "I must say, Siris is a great doctor! I'm glad he was here to help me."

"Yes, he's quite the doctor. And please, call me James, everyone does."

Sonic nodded.

"Tell me, Sonic… what brings you to our little town in the middle of nowhere?"

Siris' eyes grew wide. Without James looking, he gave everyone the "don't tell him anything" gesture.

"Uh…" Sonic was deciding what he should do.

" _If James finds out, there's no telling what he'll do,"_ Siris thought to himself.

"Uh… I was searching for Eggman," Sonic answered.

"Oh. Is that so? Dr. Eggman?"

"Yeah."

"Here? In our town?"

"Well, I was out in the forest following a lead, when…"

James was curious.

"When what?"

"Uh… I had an accident."

"An accident? That's awful. What happened?"

Mighty gave Ray a small nudge and whispered something into his ear.

"Well… it's kinda embarrassing for me to say… but I kinda lost consciousness when I ran into a large tree."

James looked at Sonic suspiciously.

"Really? Someone with abilities like yourself shouldn't have that happen to them."

"I kinda got… distracted."

"Oh? How so?"

"Sorry to interrupt," said Ray, "but we need to get going. We have a flight to catch soon, and we really can't afford to miss it."

"Of course. My apologies, I've overstayed my stay. It was nice to meet you, Sonic. Please, feel free to visit us again."

"I'll think about it."

James then turned to Knuckles.

"You are Knuckles the Echidna, correct?"

"Yeah."

"I have something that might be of interest to you."

James reached into his suit and pulled out a green crystal.

"A Master Emerald shard?!"

"Yes, I found it lying on the path leading to the clinic. It appeared to be a shard of the Master Emerald, and you have proven my suspicions. Since it belongs to you, here."

James handed the shard over to Knuckles.

"Consider it a show of good faith."

Siris rolled his eyes.

" _I should beat the crap out of you."_

James turned around and headed out. He noticed Siris was wearing his grapple bracelets.

"Hm… been a while since I've seen you wear those. Something happen?"

"Nope. Just makes it easier to reach items on higher shelves."

"Hm… Well, I'll leave you to your work, 'Wisps'. It was nice to meet you all. Goodbye."

He walked off and left the clinic. As soon as the front door closed, Siris sighed.

 **(Music fades)**

"You alright, Siris?" Mighty asked.

"I'm fine. Thanks for the save, Ray."

"Yeah, we figured you could use some help."

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy were confused.

"Uh… can someone explain what's going on here?" Amy asked.

"Here's the short version; James and I were friends once, we worked together, had different ways of reaching our goals, had a falling out, haven't been friends since," Siris explained.

"Uh…" said Tails.

"Don't bother," Mighty warned, "Siris hasn't even told us what his beef is with that mouse. But for some reason, even me and Ray get bad vibes from the guy."

Ray nodded.

"Why didn't you want me to tell him about the-"

"Sonic, shush!" Siris orderd, "He could still be listening from somewhere."

Sonic closed his mouth and Siris sighed.

"Look, this isn't your problem to worry. Don't worry about it. Just don't tell him anything about… THAT."

"Alright. If you say so."

Knuckles cleared his throat, and everyone turned towards him.

 **[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ]** (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00) **(Loop if necessary)**

"What's up, Knuckles?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles walked up to Siris and held up his hand, as though he was expecting to be given something. Siris smirked and reached into his inventory.

"I gotcha. Here."

Siris handed his shard to Knuckles.

"Here's another one, Knuckles," said Tails, handing his over.

"Thank you," said Knuckles as he put them away.

"Let me, guess," said Sonic, "Master Emerald got shattered again?"

Knuckles turned to Sonic.

"Yeah, someone tried to steal the Master Emerald a couple of days ago. I had no choice but to break it myself."

"Sorry to hear that," said Sonic, "Any idea who it was."

Knuckles shook his head.

"All I know is that it was definitely a robot, almost twice my size, and it was wearing a cloak. All I could see were its red eyes."

"Hmm… Well, I can name at least three possible suspects," said Sonic, "but that's not important right now."

"Hey, not to be rude or anything," said Siris, "but I think you guys should probably get going. If that warning is legit, who knows how much time we have."

"He's right, Sonic," agreed Tails, "you and Amy should head for the hotel in town and get some rest while Knuckles and I go searching."

Tails reached into his inventory and pulled out a hotel keycard.

"Here. Our room is 240-A."

"Huh… how odd," said Ray.

"Huh?"

"Our room is 240-B, the room right across from yours."

"Wow… this day is getting more and more strange…" said Tails.

"Tails, just from what I've seen and heard today," said Siris, "Almost nothing could surprise me."

Sonic got up from his bed and stretched out his limbs.

"Come on, guys. Let's get going."

"I'll prepare the Tornado for takeoff. I'll fly you over to the hotel, Sonic," Tails told him.

"Tails…" Siris said sternly.

"I can't even take a short flight to the hotel?" Sonic whined.

"Your legs aren't broken; you can walk the short distance to town."

Amy grabbed Sonic's arm.

"I'll walk with you, Sonic. That way I can keep my eye on you."

"Okay, fine," Sonic sighed.

Siris led the group out outside.

"Know that I think about it," said Siris, "James didn't mention anything about the robot carcass. Where'd it go?"

Everyone looked around for a second before Tails answered.

"I put it in the Tornado. Figured I would take a look at it later and see what information I could find."

"Good thinking, Tails," Sonic commented before turning to Siris, "Well, it was nice seeing you again, Siris."

The two shook hands.

"Yeah, you too… Hey, word of warning?"

Everyone turned to Siris.

"I have my reasons for disliking James. Not to sound biased, but I would stay away from him," Siris warned.

"Why?" Amy asked, "He appears to be a decent person. A bit nosey, but nothing harmful."

Siris shook his head.

"I've known him for a long time. And looks can be deceiving, Amy. Just… don't tell him anything not worth knowing."

"You mean about what we discussed earlier?" Knuckles asked.

"Yeah. And if I were you, Knuckles, I wouldn't take that shard as a 'show of good faith'."

Knuckles nodded.

"Anyways, it was nice to see you all again," said Siirs, "Might, Ray? We'll talk tomorrow afternoon. Café sound good?"

The two nodded.

"Perfect. So long, everyone."

Siris waved farewell to everyone as he went back inside his clinic. Sonic and Tails noticed Knuckles was staring were Siris was.

"Something wrong, Knuckles?" Sonic asked.

Knuckles shook his head and sighed.

"Nah. Just thinking about what to do; help you guys out with the base or go off searching for the Master Emerald shards."

Tails began to ponder Knuckles' dilemma.

"We'll handle it, Knuckles!"

Everyone turned to Mighty.

"You go search for the Master Emerald shards. Ray and I can help Sonic and Tails with the base."

"You sure?"

"Yeah!" said Ray, "we're leaving in a couple of days anyways, so we might as well help out while we're here."

Knuckles walked over to Mighty and Ray, giving them both a fist bump.

"Thanks."

He turned to Sonic and Tails and gave them a farewell smirk.

"Mighty?"

"Yeah, Knux?"

"Mind giving me a launch?"

"Heh, just like old times," Mighty smirked, "Just point the way."

Knuckles pointed a thumb over his shoulder, pointing in the opposite direction of the base. Mighty nodded. Before anyone could react, Mighty had grabbed Knuckles by the hand and heaved him a couple hundred feet up in air. The momentum gave Knuckles a speed boost as he glided away into the distance. His five friends watched as he disappeared.

"Well, no use in just standing around," said Sonic, "You three should head to the base now. If that robot lord guy thinks he's gonna beat us, he's got another thing coming."

Tails, Mighty, and Ray nodded.

"Come on, we'll use the Tornado to get to the base," Tails told his new friends, "We'll be back at the hotel later, Sonic."

"Alright. You be careful, Tails."

Everyone waved to each other as Tails, Mighty, and Ray walked off toward the Tornado 2.

Sonic and Amy watched as the Tornado began to rise behind the clinic before taking off for the base. As the plane vanished behind a hill, Sonic turned to Amy.

"Come on, let's get to the hotel."

"Right. And don't you think about taking off, mister!"

Sonic laughed as Amy grabbed his arm and began walking together towards town.

 **(Music fades)**

Meanwhile, back at the clinic, Siris was sitting at his desk, pondering over the events of the past few days.

" _Not good… how did James know about Sonic? Mighty and Ray brought him in before anyone would even be awake… besides me, of course. First Sylvie, then Sonic, now a new threat to the world? What the hell is going on?"_

Siris sighed.

" _I hope James isn't trying to pull a fast one on me. If he does, then all my work will be for nothing."_

Siris turned towards the clock. It was almost noon. Time sure flies when a lot happens in one day.

" _Well, I don't have any appointments scheduled today. I guess now would be a good time to go take Sylvie shopping for some new clothes."_

Siris got up, placed the out to lunch sign up, and entered his house.

"Welcome back, Master," Sylvie greeted from the kitchen, where she was dusting some old plates.

"Hey, Sylvie. You feeling alright?"

"Huh?"

"I can tell you seem a bit nervous right now," Siris explained as a gentle smile appeared on his face, "Did my abilities out there scare you?"

Sylvie became so surprised, she accidentally dropped the plate she was cleaning. Siris dashed into the kitchen and caught it before it hit the ground. Seeing Siris immediately appear next to her caused Sylvie to gasp.

"You alright, Sylvie?"

She slowly nodded, amazed to see Siris' speed up close.

"Sorry about that. I wasn't expecting this day to be like this…" Siris continued.

He looked down at his grapples.

"…let alone use these again."

Sylvie gave Siris a curious look.

"So, uh… why don't you put some shoes on and meet me at the front door. We're going shopping."

Sylvie stared in silence for a moment.

"I thought you were working all day today?"

"Yeah… I did. But I changed my mind since I have no appointments scheduled."

"…If that is your wish, Master."

Sylvie went off to her room while Siris put the plate away. Sylvie came backa couple minutes later.

"Ready to go?" Siris asked.

"Yes."

"Alright. Let's go."

* * *

 _Blue Moon Hotel_

 **[ Undertale OST – Home Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

Sonic was lying in bed, staring up at the spinning ceiling fan, bored out of his mind.

"There's nothing to do," he moaned.

"Oh, please, Sonic," Amy remarked, "we haven't even been here for five minutes and you're already complaining."

"But this is so boring. At least let me watch some TV."

Amy sighed and sent a message to Siris. A few seconds later, he replied.

"Well, Siris says that's fine, but if you don't get better, it's your fault."

Amy handed Sonic the remote and laid down next to him.

"Thanks, Amy."

"You're welcome, Sonic," she replied, kissing him on the cheek.

Sonic's communicator went off, indicating he received a message, and he read it.

"Unbelievable," Sonic muttered with a smile.

"What?"

Sonic showed Amy the message.

' _You still owe me 100 rings from Doomsday. Your pal, Siris.'_

Amy looked at Sonic, confused.

"We made a bet when we were searching for the Deep Power Stone at Robotnik's base during the Doomsday problem," Sonic explained.

"Was that the day you met Siris?"

Sonic nodded.

"That was the only day I've ever met him."

"Ever?"

"Yeah."

They stayed quiet as Sonic flipped through the channels.

"Nope… nope… boring… nope, won't be able to get that song out of my head for weeks…"

Amy didn't care what Sonic decided to watch, she was glad to be with her boyfriend again after not being by his side for months.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Abandoned Base_

Tails was busy trying to hack open the doors while Mighty and Ray kept a lookout for any possible threats.

"How much longer, Tails? I thought you were some kind of genius or something?" Ray called out.

"Almost got it, guys! Just give me a few more seconds."

Ray sighed.

"That's what he told us five minutes ago…" he muttered.

"No, it was two minutes, Ray," Tails remarked.

 ***KA-CHUNG***

Slowly the doors began to open, rust fell down from above and the sound of metal scrapping gave the three Mobians chills down their spines. The doors came to a halt. Mighty walked up to the entrance.

 **[ Abandoned Factory [Ambient] ]** (Uploaded by Pyrite Industries) (0:00)

"Hello? Early trick-or-treaters are here~!" he called out into the darkness.

His voice echoed throughout the old abandoned base. Mighty turned to his friends and shrugged.

"Guess no one's home."

Tails pulled out a couple of flashlights from his inventory, tossing one to Mighty. The three walked inside and began their investigation.

"Man, this place is huge," said Ray.

"Yeah, *cough cough* dusty, too," Mighty remarked, "We better stay close together for now. We could easily get lost in here."

"Good idea, Mighty," said Tails.

The three walked down the blackened corridors; faint sounds of chains disturbed by wind and metallic bangs traveling throughout the base.

"Sure is scary," Tails noted.

"Yeah," Ray replied, "And not in the fun Halloween way either, ironically."

Tails nodded.

"This makes Mystic Mansion a pale comparison."

Mighty and Ray looked at him.

"Mystic Mansion?"

"Never heard of it? Ah, never mind. Let's just focus on finding a server room or a data vault."

As the three continued their way through the base, none of them were aware that within the darkness, a small camera was trailing them, sending surveillance footage to an unknown location.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Blue Moon Village_

 **[ Accumula Town – Pokémon Black & White Music Extended ] **(Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Heh, he'd better pay up later," Siris smirked to himself.

"Huh?"

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all, Sylvie."

Siris and Sylvie had just finished buying supplies for the clinic. There wasn't much for Siris to get, but he wanted to give Sylvie another opportunity to get familiar with the town. He also bought some ingredients for the dinner he had planned that night and some necessities for Sylvie; toothbrush, shampoo, conditioner, among other thngs. As they continued walking, Siris noticed they were near the café. He wasn't feeling that hungry, but he wondered if Sylvie was.

"You hungry, Sylvie?"

"No, I'm fine, thank you."

"Hm…"

Siris took a look around him. He was hoping to find a decent place to buy clothes for Sylvie, but he didn't want a lot of people to see her. It wasn't that he was embarrassed of her company, it was more that he felt sorry for how people might look upon her. Unfortunately, he only knew of two decent stores and they were both crowded today. Across from the café was a large fountain surrounded by a couple of benches. This area was used as a plaza for the town; many people would come here on lunch breaks or rest her on morning walks. Siris turned to Sylvie.

"Let's take a short break here," he told her.

Sylvie nodded and made her way to the fountain. She sat down on the edge and beckoned Siris to sit next to her, which he obliged. For a few minutes the two sat there silently. Siris looked around, admiring the scenery. If one were to describe the feeling of Blue Moon Village, they would describe it as gothic, but modern and not as dark. Siris turned and noticed Sylvie was becoming somewhat uncomfortable.

"Are you stressed by work?" Sylvie asked shyly.

"Huh?"

"You seem more… tense. Did I do something wrong?"

Siris looked down at Sylvie's face and smiled.

"No, you've done nothing wrong… I just… met with someone I don't really like, that's all," he explained, giving Sylvie a pat on the head.

Sylvie appeared more comfortable. From the corner of his eye, Siris saw a blonde color move by in the distance. He turned his head just in time to watch a woman walk around a corner. For a moment, Siris thought he saw her wink at him.

"Siris?"

Siris jerked his head back to Sylvie in surprise. He said nothing as he stared at her.

"Did you just say my name?"

Sylvie slightly hung her head down.

"I thought you told me to call you by your name…"

Siris' heart rose.

"…whenever there are others around."

And sank just as quickly; Siris sighed.

" _I'm glad she's able to say my name. I hope she'll be able to stop calling me her 'master' someday."_

"Yes, I did. Thank you, Sylvie. Did you want something?"

She turned her head back to Siris, no longer feeling down.

"I was wondering if something was wrong. You were staring at that woman."

"Ah, you saw that? Sorry, it's just… she looked familiar," Siris explained.

He then got up from his seat.

"Come on, let's explore a little. There's one last stop I'd like to make before we head home."

Sylvie got up and followed Siris. Just out curiosity, Siris went the same direction he saw the blonde human walk. They turned the corner but there was no sign of her. Shrugging it off, Siris took Sylvie through a couple of streets that varied from his usual route back home. A few minutes later, a store with a strange atmosphere caught Siris' eyes. They approached the store and Siris tried to peer inside through a window.

" _I can't see anything from out here. What kind of store is this?"_ he wondered, _"Well, only one way to find out."_

Siris opened the door and he and Sylvie entered. The moment they stepped inside, they were surrounded by women's clothes, many with strange patterns and eccentric designs. Siris took a look around as Sylvie followed close behind.

"Uh… hello?" he called out.

No response.

"Anyone here?"

Siris stopped and looked around. Sylvie walked to his side and waited patiently. Neither of them were aware of the presence behind them.

"Oh my, welcome," said a female voice.

Siris' eyes widened for a moment.

" _That voice."_

"I'm surprised it took you so long to find me," the voice continued.

Siris turned around and found himself looking up at a woman; the same woman he saw earlier, smiling at him seductively. She was tall, blonde with bangs that spiral below her chin and down a few inches, and eyes a pumpkin color. She was wearing a black cherry colored off shoulder bustier, attached with both a gothic black blazer and a black voile bustled skirt with side slits, which partially revealed her legs in black thigh-high stockings, and on her head was a two-foot-long black bycoket with a long black feather attached.

 **Sorry, was that too much? I really need to get more chapters out. I really want you guys to get the right image and it would help if you knew what the other game is.**

Siris smirked.

"Well, you're one illusive woman, Aurelia," he replied.

The woman chuckled and walked over to the pair.

"That's coming from the Mobian who can run at high speeds," she retorted.

"Touché."

Sylvie was confused, looking back and forth between Siris and Aurelia. Siris looked down and noticed.

"Sylvie, this is Aurelia. She's an old friend of mine," Siris explained.

Aurelia looked down at Sylvie and gasped.

"My oh my, aren't you just the cutest thing!" she teased.

"Huh?" said Sylvie.

Aurelia turned to Siris.

"Are you looking for clothes for this girl today? Am I right? Please let me be right. No… I must be right!"

"Uh…"

"I mean, I may be out of place for saying so," Aurelia continued, "but as someone who sells clothes, I just can't excuse the way that she's dressed."

"Huh? Wait, no-no-no-no-no, you've got it-" Siris tried to explain.

Aurelia took Sylvie by the hand.

"Could you please wait for a little bit, Siris? I'll choose something that will be just perfect for her."

"Huh?" Siris and Sylvie said.

"Come on, come over here."

"Eh… Ah…" Sylvie said as she was dragged deeper into the store, leaving Siris standing there alone.

He stood there for a minute processing the event.

"What the hell just happened?" he said softly.

A couple of minutes later, Aurelia came back.

"Sorry for the wait," she said.

Siris noticed Sylvie was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's…?"

Aurelia took a step to the side; Sylvie was standing behind her the whole time.

"How is this, my dear friend?"

Siris' eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. Sylvie was no longer wearing that dirty pathetic excuse of a dress or the shoes and gloves he gave her yesterday; she was now wearing a graceful looking simple delft blue apron dress with white sleeves and a delft blue skirt that went down to her ankles. The quills that once blocked some of her eyes were now held aside by two small light blue hairpins. On her feet were white cotton socks and a pair of school issue prodigies, which appeared to be adult style. She was no longer wearing the slightly worn gloves Siris gave her before; instead she had new white ones. As a final touch, a blue ribbon was tied behind her head, holding some of Sylvie's quills together to form a ponytail.

"Isn't she completely different from before?" Aurelia smirked.

Siris was so entranced by Sylvie, he couldn't answer. Aurelia pinched his nose to get his attention.

"Huh? Uh, yeah. Yeah, she definitely… wow."

Sylvie didn't look comfortable wearing such wonderful clothes.

" _Maybe she isn't used to wearing such things?"_ Siris mused.

"Having a girl her age only wear a single rag is just… too much. Don't you think these are much more fitting? I strongly recommend buying these clothes," Aurelia told Siris.

Sylvie looked down at the floor.

" _Master won't buy clothes like these for me…"_ she thought sadly.

Siris turned to the blonde.

"How much?" he asked.

Sylvie looked up in surprise as Aurelia teased Siris with a smile.

"Normally, these would go for 200 rings. But for you, I'll take 150."

"Auri, I'm not broke. I can pay the 200."

"Then I'll do it for the young lady," Aurelia countered, "And don't call me 'Auri', only _she_ could call me that."

"Fair enough. Alright, here's the 150 rings."

Siris pulled out his item box and handed it to her. Aurelia walked over to the register and placed the cylindrical box on a small platform connected to the register. Aurelia tapped a few buttons and Siris watched as the number labeled on the box reduced by 150. Aurelia handed the item box back to Siris and he put it away.

" _Siris bought me clothes?"_

"That was a very wise decision. One's looks can affect one's dignity," Aurelia told them.

"Amen to that," said Siris.

Aurelia strolled over to Siris, her smirk now looking almost devilish.

"And now, this girl looks like a dignified lady worthy of you."

Siris' heart skipped a beat and he began to blush.

"Uh, no. Uh-uh, that's… that's not-"

Aurelia giggled.

"She was right about you, you do care about this girl. A lot."

Siris glared at Aurelia, wondering who she was referring to. No one else knew about Sylvie. No one, except…

"Nephy," Siris growled, "I hope she's not opening that big mouth of hers."

Siris put a hand on his forehead and sighed. This only further amused Aurelia.

"Oh, relax Siris. She only told me because I'm a close friend of yours."

"Really? How'd you convince Nephy that we were friends?"

"Were?" Aurelia teased.

"Are," Siris corrected, rolling his eyes.

"Simple. How many other female humans with orange irises do you know?"

"Good point."

Siris turned to see where Sylvie was; she was standing by the exit.

"Thanks, Aurelia," Siris said to her.

"My pleasure," she teased, "Do you have a moment?"

Siris turned back to her.

"Sure, I have plenty of time. I mean, if you want to catch up, we could meet at the café sometime."

"No, it's not that," Aurelia explained, her tone more serious and her smile gone, "The girl…"

"Sylvie. Her name's Sylvie," said Siris.

"Sylvie. Did she get those scars from Charles?"

Siris stared at the orange eyed employee.

"Yes. Now let's cut to straight to the point, how much do you know?"

"Just a hunch. It seemed strange to see Fang the Sniper dragging a young lady inappropriately like that and just leave her with a respectable doctor like yourself only a few short days after Charles died."

She gave Siris a soft but dark glare.

"I hope you've been treating her well, Siris. The pain you've gone through… it wouldn't be hard to assume you would treat others the same to make it all seem fair."

Aside from only a handful of people, if anyone else had said that to Siris he would have threatened them to not assume such things, as they didn't know what he's gone through. Aurelia does know.

"I don't blame you, Aurelia," Siris said calmly, "If anything, I feel horrible for not buying Sylvie clothes sooner. But I'm glad I didn't until now."

"Why?"

"Because I doubt I would have run into your shop," he smirked, which Aurelia returned, "Don't worry, she'll never be harmed again. See you around."

Siris turned and left the shop, holding open the door for Sylvie.

"I can't wait," Aurelia chuckled to herself.

Siris and Sylvie made their way back home.

" _Why did Siris buy me these clothes? I'm just a slave, I don't deserve to wear something so pretty."_

"… Um, Siris?"

Siris stopped and looked at Sylvie.

"These clothes are wasted on me… Perhaps it would be better to return them?" she suggested sadly.

Siris smiled and gave her a pat on the head.

"Why? You look really cute in that dress."

" _Wait… what did I just say?"_ he thought, quickly pulling his hand away.

Siris and Sylvie both blushed.

"Eh… Um…" said Sylvie, a bit flustered hearing the compliment, "Thank you… very much."

"Uh, sure. No problem, Sylvie."

They remained silent for a few moments.

"But, I'm… a slave… so… these…"

Siris gave her a comforting smile. Sylvie looked at Siris, reading his expression.

"…Never mind. Thank you very much, Siris."

Siris turned around and continued back home, slowing down a little to let Sylve catch up and walk beside him.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Some plains in the middle of a nowhere_

Rouge was taking a break from the long journey she and her partners just took. Unlike Shadow and Omega, running was not her forte. It was late afternoon; the team had been traveling for a few hours. Shadow and Omega impatiently waited a few feet away while Rouge was laying in the grass, resting her eyes.

"Rouge, if you want a real break, do it once we get to Spagonia. It's only another two-hour run," Shadow told her.

Rouge waved him off.

"In case you've forgotten, Shadow, I get tired from traveling for so long. Just be glad I'm not asking for some sleep; I haven't slept in days."

Shadow sighed and turned to Omega. Omega made a slight gesture for Shadow to see.

"Rouge, why don't you stay here for a moment. Omega has picked up some strange readings nearby. We'll go check it out and be back in a few minutes."

"Fine by me. Have fun, boys!"

Shadow and Omega turned away and rushed off over the hills in the distance, leaving Rouge alone. Rouge smiled as she let herself relax and have some peace of mind.

" _Hm… I wonder what Sonic and his friends are up to. We've left Eggmanland, but there's still interference."_

Rouge took a deep breath and sighed.

" _I hope Knuckles is safe. I haven't spoken to him since the two Sonics and that Rookie kid defeated Eggman and Infinite."_

Rouge shuddered. Even hearing Infinite's name in her mind was chilling to her.

" _Infinite… I don't even want to know what could have happened if Sonic didn't return. Omega was out of commission for so long, worrying both me and Shadow. Hmm… now that I think about it, that look in Shadow's eyes when he found Omega like that… I don't know why, but I feel like I've seen that look before."_

Rouge sighed again and decided to drop the thought. She sat up and activated her communicator; giving the Chaotix a call.

" _ **Vector, here. What's up, Rouge?"**_

"Just checking in with you guys. Any leads?"

" _ **None. We've searched Station Square, the Mystic Ruins, and Angel Island.'**_

"That's a lot of ground covered in such a short amount of time."

" _ **It helps when we all split up and go to different places. What about you? Anything on your end?"**_

"None. We're on our way to Spagonia to look for Sonic. Have you heard from him?"

" _ **Really? Funny you should say that, Rouge. Mighty just called me and mentioned Sonic to me."**_

"Mighty?"

" _ **Yeah, he's a part time Chaotix member, has been for years. He and his buddy Ray, another part timer, were out visiting a friend somewhere and they found Sonic hurt bad."**_

Rouge was shocked.

"What? What happened? Is he alright?"

" _ **He's fine. They took him to a town doctor who patched him up. He's fine now, just a minor concussion. Mighty said Sonic was attacked by Metal Sonic. Sonic claims it ended in a draw and Metal was sent flying."**_

"Where was Sonic when this happened?"

" _ **During his search for Eggman, he found an old abandoned base he believes belonged to the Egghead himself. He contacted Tails to come over in a couple of days, which is when he got attacked, and by the time Tails and Knuckles showed up, Mighty and Ray had already found Sonic and brought him to the doctor."**_

"Knuckles? Why was he there? I thought he had to guard the Master Emerald on Angel Island?"

" _ **Sorry, he didn't say. Mighty told me he'd tell me more later. He, Ray, and Tails are currently searching around the old base as we speak. I'll update you more when I learn more."**_

"Alright, Vector. Keep searching."

Rouge deactivated her communicator and sighed. She didn't see the robot platoon quietly approaching her, but she could sense their presence. Actually, she knew they were there for a while.

"Don't you know its rude to sneak up on a woman like that? It's a total turn off," she said as she turned to face the large number of SWAT-bots and Egg Pawns beginning to surround her, "This is a bit much to ask a girl out, don't you think?"

One SWAT-bot, distinct from the rest by a green head instead of a blue one, marched up and stopped a few feet from Rouge.

"You are coming with us, prisoner," it ordered in a robotic voice.

"Pfft. Like I'm anyone's prisoner," said Rouge.

"You are needed alive. Our leader has plans for you and your friends."

"Well, I'd hardly call Shadow and Omega my friends, but I suppose I am the closest thing they have to one."

"If you do not come willing, we will have to take you by force."

Rouge chuckled.

"Go ahead and try, tin can. You might not like the results."

"This is your final warning: surrender now, or we will force you to submit."

"Shame we can't come to a compromise. 'fraid I must refuse your offer."

The SWAT-bot leader raised an arm and the entire platoon aimed their right arms at Rouge. She watched as the arms on the SWAT-bots transformed into laser blasters. The leader lowered its arm and the surrounding platoon closed in around Rouge.

"You know, there's one thing I should mention," Rouge told the leader.

"And what's that, bat?"

"Never assume a target to be alone. Especially a member of Team Dark," she smirked.

"Is that so? Well, jewel thief, your 'team' has abandoned you. You're all alone. What makes you think you'll get out of this alive?"

The robots were now within a five-foot radius around her.

"What makes you think I'm alone?"

Before the leader could respond, a light flashed next to Rouge one second, and the next, Shadow and Omega were standing by her side.

"Well, now. I must thank you. This will make capturing all three of you much easier," the leader remarked.

"It appears our little plan may have backfired," Rouge said nonchalantly.

"Hmph. Let's get this over with," Shadow replied.

In his hand was the green Chaos Emerald. He raised it above his head.

"Chaos…"

A red aura surrounded his entire body as the robots continued to approach.

"BLAST!"

A burst of Chaos energy exploded from Shadow, sending the surrounding platoon flying a couple hundred yards away in every direction. Rouge and Omega remained unharmed, thanks to the rigorous training Shadow went through to further improve his control over the Chaos powers. Although the blast pushed back the SWAT-bots, it did little to harm them.

 **[ Robot Carnival – Sonic Heroes Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Get them!" the robot leader commanded.

The platoon charged toward Team Dark as they dashed in different directions, on the attack as well.

 **Time to experiment. The follow scenes all begin at the same time. Instead of jumping from one to another, I'm gonna focus on one character at a time. Kinda curious to see how it works. If you guys like it, maybe I'll do it again in the future.**

 **{ Shadow }**

Shadow skated towards the closest Egg Pawn near him.

"Chaos Spear!"

Shadow launched the spear at the robot, stunning it in place. He leapt into the air and homing attacked into it. A nearby SWAT-bot aimed its weapon at Shadow but was kicked to the ground when Shadow teleported behind it. He then teleported to another SWAT-bot. spin kicking its legs and smashing both fists into its body. Around him, two Egg Pawns and four additional SWAT-bots rushed Shadow.

"Chaos Control!"

Time practically stopped around the black hedgehog; everything appeared frozen in space. Shadow leapt toward one of the SWAT-bots and began pummeling it with punches and kicks before dashing towards another to do the same. After he finished doing the same to the forth SWAT-bot, Shadow backflipped off its body and landed between the two Egg Pawns just as the effects of the Chaos Control diminished. The second Shadow landed on the ground, all four SWAT-bots exploded. The Egg Pawns stopped dead in their tracks and looked around at the four destroyed robots that were just fine a second ago, literally. They turned to each other and then at Shadow.

"Useless pieces of junk."

Before the Pawns could turn and run, Shadow spin dashed into them, causing them to both explode. Shadow then caught sight of the SWAT-bot leader and made a dash for it.

 **{ Rouge }**

A SWAT-bot took aim and fired at Rouge. She jumped in the air, dodging the laser, and glided down towards the robot, giving it a swift kick under the head. As its noodle flew into the air, Rouge spin kicked a nearby Egg Pawn as another SWAT-bot took aim at her. Rouge swiftly stepped behind another SWAT-bot, which took a laser for her, albeit involuntarily. She kicked the powered down metal body into her attacker, crushing it between the ground and the heavy body. An Egg Pawn discretely snuck up behind her and attempted to grab her. Just as its cold robotic fingers were inches away from her neck, its head suddenly blew up.

"Thanks, Omega," she smirked as she kicked an approaching SWAT-bot in the sensitive regions. **Don't ask, even I'm confused.** As the fell to its knees, grabbing the metal plating that failed to protect its nads, Rouge's heel came crashing down from above and forcing the robots head into its body. Two more SWAT-bots rushed her from the sides. Rouge launched into the air just as the two robots closed in on her, causing them to collide with each other. She glided above another SWAT-bot and drill drove right through its body. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the robot leader and made a run for it.

 **{ Omega** **}**

Omega charged at two Egg Pawns. The sight of the most powerful E-series robot terrified them; they could do nothing as Omega came up and batted them aside like they were nothing.

"Worthless consumer models."

A SWAT-bot fired at Omega, hitting him directly in the chest. He looked down and noted the effectiveness of his armor; there wasn't even a mark where he was shot. Omega turned his attention to the attacker and raised his right arm, deploying his missile launcher and firing one at the SWAT-bot. As the robot exploded, Omega deployed both Gatling guns from his hands and began wiping out the engaging platoon. An Egg Pawn jumped on top of Omega and held on to his head. Omega ignored the nuisance and continued his rampage against the SWAT-bots and Egg Pawns. From his peripheral, Omega saw an Egg Pawn sneaking up behind Rouge. He put away the Gatling guns and deployed his Omega Shot artillery, taking aim at the Egg Pawn. Unfortunately, the one that was still on his head was blocking his sights, causing lock-on to be impossible. He grabbed the joyrider's head with his left hand, crushed it, and promptly tossed the body away as he shot Rouge's sneaky attacker in the head with a Lock-On Shot. Suddenly, a SWAT-bot that ironically managed to sneak up behind Omega grabbed him by the arms and attempted to snap him in half by pulling his arms behind his back. But Omega's arms wouldn't budge. The SWAT-bot would never realize its mistake, because in the time it would have taken it to, Omega managed to spin his upper body with such a force that it tore the SWAT=bot's left arm off and a huge metal left fist destroyed its midsection circuitry, resulting in a small explosion. As the dust cleared, Omega targeted the SWAT-bot leader and charged at it using his jet boosters.

"Fools," the SWAT-bot muttered as its eyes began to glow blue.

As the three members of Team Dark closed in to their target, the SWAT-bot unleashed a powerful wave of electricity in the surrounding vicinity, shocking everything in its path, be it friend or foe. The shock caused Shadow and Rouge to scream in pain while causing all the non-organics to malfunction and either explode or deactivate. Omega fought through the painful attack, but even he began to fade.

"You just couldn't come willingly, could you?" the SWAT-bot leader asked, "It's such a pity for me to sacrifice my remaining troops to bring you in."

As it spoke, Shadow and Rouge lost consciousness and fell to the ground, while Omega went into emergency standby mode, sitting down on the ground. Satisfied, the leader halted the attack and walked calmly to Shadow, who dropped his Emerald when he hit the ground.

 **(Music fades)**

"So much for "The Ultimate Lifeform" and his friends putting up a fight," it muttered as it reached for the Chaos Emerald.

The leader picked up the jewel and stood up, admiring the power radiating from it.

"This will please my lord very much, thanks to the three of you. And as a bonus, I've managed to capture all three of you at once. How uneventful."

The SWAT-bot reached for Shadow's unconscious body, unaware that Omega had gone out of standby mode and was standing right behind him. Feeling like he was being watched, the leader turned around and found itself face to face with a very angry E-123 Omega. Glowing in its hand, the SWAT-bot attempted to harness the power of the Chaos Emerald.

"Let's see how you like-" the leader began to taunt.

Omega grabbed the arm the SWAT-bot held the Emerald in and ripped it from its body. Turning back to face the leader, Omega swung his arm out and backhanded the enemy away from his fallen comrade. The SWAT-bot looked up from the ground, staring into Omega's eyes with fear.

"Wha… How is this possible? You just had enough current course through your body to kill over 10,000 birds at once!"

Omega slowly approached the heavily damaged leader.

"You should be destroyed… or-or-or at least stuck in standby mode. What are you?" the leader asked with shock.

Omega grabbed the leader by the throat and pulled it close, so they could see face to face by an inch.

"I am E-123 Omega! The ultimate E-series robot!"

Omega slowly tightened his grip.

"Tell me where your leader is."

The SWAT-bot, though terrified, laughed at Omega's order.

"You think you can scare me into giving you information? Do your worst. Whatever you do to me, my lord will do worse, a hundred-fold! So, go ahead, 'ultimate E-series robot' prove your self-proclaimed title!"

Omega stopped tightening his grip and stared into the SWAT-bot's eyes.

"Oh, showing mercy? How disappointing. Even E-101 Beta would have pulled the trigger."

Omega glared at his taunting enemy.

"You couldn't beat even beat Beta in your prime! No, worse…"

Omega loosened his grip a little.

"… you couldn't even beat E-102 Gamma!"

 ***SCRUNTCH***

"Using my late brothers to insult me was unwise."

Omega watched as the SWAT-bot's eyes dimmed to darkness and dropped the decapitated head next to its collapsed body. He then turned around and checked on his unconscious teammates.

"Assessing agents' injuries… scans complete. No critical damage sustained. Recommended treatment: four hours rest."

Omega picked up Shadow and Rouge and gently laid them in a more comfortable position for them to rest. He then walked over to where the Chaos Emerald was dropped. He picked it up and placed it in the compartment within his chest for safe keeping until Shadow had regained consciousness.

"Combat mode, disengaged. Defense mode, active. Perimeter scans engaged."

Fully prepared, Omega stood next to his comrades and waited, protecting them as they laid in the afternoon sunlight.

 _Secret Base at Unknown Location_

"Interesting… it seems Omega lives up to his title. Hm… I'm disappointed in the platoon's failure, especially their insubordination for ignoring my orders to wait for him to return… but, this new data will be perfect for my plans."

The 'lord' turned its attention back to the live video feed from the abandoned base Tails, Mighty, and Ray were searching. They watched the Mobians look through old files and explore dark rooms in hopes to find something.

"Those meddlesome fools think they can find anything of use in that joke of a base Julian created years ago? Ha! Such amusement. But… that two-tailed freak has proven to be a resourceful one over the years. Hmm…"

The 'lord' went through their memory, trying to remember something.

"If I recall correctly… Ivo did create some kind of robot to fool Sonic in a race years ago. I wonder if I still have it lying around somewhere."

"My lord."

"Ah, you've returned! I presume the mission was a success?" the 'lord' asked, turning to see the green-eyed dark figure in the darkness.

"Oh, yes. I wasn't able to get them all, but I have four here at your disposal."

The figure tossed a bag over to his leader. The leader slowly untied the bag and looked inside.

"Well done. I must be honest, I expected you to return with only one; two at the very most. But four? You should be proud of yourself."

"Anything for you, as long as you help me finally be rid of that hedgehog once and for all. Ahhh…. I see the platoon became impatient and got themselves eliminated. What a waste."

"You let me worry about that. For now, continue shadowing Team Dark as before. I will attach a small squad of robot fodder to accompany you. Use them as you see fit. If Omega picks you up again, fall back and throw the squad in your place. I have plenty of spare metal soldiers that I don't mind losing."

"Thank you, my lord. I will leave now."

The green eyes faded into the darkness and the lord looked back at his monitors.

"You may all have found some reprieve for now… but this is no where close to even beginning, fools."

The 'lord' then turned to the monitor showing the only image sent by Dagger before they were all wiped out. It was a picture of Sonic being held up by Amy inside what appeared to be a doctor's office or clinic. The 'lord' recognized them, Tails, and Knuckles, but not the squirrel and armadillo, the same ones who were at the bases mentioned before. There appeared to be two other Mobians in the picture: an unseen person whose black glove is seen through the building entrance, and a silver colored hedgehog peaking from a window.

"I need to research everyone in this photo. Sonic and his two pals have already been studied for years, and those two currently with Tails seem interesting… that ugly silver one…"

 **(F*** you)**

"… doesn't seem important, but that other one… the one I can't see. I get an uneasy feeling about that one."

The 'lord' leaned back in their seat and stared at the picture.

"Who are you?"

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Blue Moon Hotel_

 **[ Relaxing Music for Stress Relief, Soothing Music for Meditation, Healing, Therapy, Sleep, Spa ]** (Uploaded by Meditation Relax Music) (0:00)

Amy quietly watched the TV along side her boyfriend. It had been a couple of hours since Tails, Mighty, and Ray went off to explore the abandoned base and neither she or Sonic have heard from them since.

" _I hope they're okay,"_ she thought to herself, _"After hearing everything that has happened in the last few days…"_

Amy sighed.

" _It's just like last year; some scary guy shows up and threatens to destroy everything just to rule the world. What if this guy is worse than Dark Gaia? Or Infinite? I… we almost lost Sonic last time. What if it happens again? What if he… he…"_

"Amy?"

She turned to Sonic and saw a concerned look on his face.

"You okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

Sonic pointed toward his eyes. Amy didn't understand what he was meant until she realized that she had been crying.

"Oh. It's… it's nothing, don't worry."

"Amy…"

"Alright," she sighed, "I'm just worried."

Sonic turned off the TV and listened.

"I'm worried about what that… thing said on the message. About how not even the Chaos Emeralds will save us in the coming weeks."

Sonic pulled Amy closer to him.

"Ames, don't worry. We always win, right? And we've faced worse things than that creepy voiced loser who sent me that message."

"I'm not so sure this time…"

Sonic looked down at her.

"What do you mean? I always come back, don't I? Chaos, the ARK, Dark Gaia-"

"But what if you don't this time?!"

Sonic paused and thought about it.

"Sonic, Infinite was the first person to ever defeat you! What if this guy is even worse than that!?"

He looked down again and smirked.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to be faster and stronger than ever before! Besides…"

Amy looked up at Sonic, tears slowly forming in her eyes again.

"Huh?"

"We didn't need the Chaos Emeralds to defeat Infinite and Eggman before, did we?"

"No…"

"We didn't need them when the Deadly Six tried to destroy the world."

"Okay, but-"

"And we didn't need them when Eggman made that huge amusement park in space. So what makes you think this would be any different?"

"Okay, okay, I get it. You've managed to always find a way to win without relying on the Chaos Emeralds."

"See? So, stop worrying. I promise, nothing bad will happen to any of you guys."

"Promise?"

"Scout's honor."

"Ha! Like you'd be a good scout!"

Amy paused.

"Sonic… what if we do need the Emeralds this time?"

Sonic pulled out the yellow Chaos Emerald and stared at it.

"Well… one down, six to go then," he replied, turning to Amy, "guess we'd better find the rest before that 'lord' decides to launch a full-scale attack."

"Hmm… if you say so."

Amy remained on the bed for a few moments before getting up and heading for the door. Sonic sat up and turned towards her.

"Where you going,Amy?"

"I'm gonna explore this town for a little bit. I saw a few shops I wanted to check out before I arrived at Siris' clinic."

Sonic laid back down.

"Alright. Have fun, Amy."

"Don't think about leaving this room, mister," she warned sternly, "I mean it, if you run off, I will call Siris and have him hunt you down."

"Ooh, I'm so scared. And it's almost Halloween, too," Sonic joked.

"Wonder what other color abilities he's got up his sleeves," Amy teased, "Maybe he could summon a fire tornado… or shoot lasers out of his hands… or maybe even-"

"Alright, alright, I get it! Sheesh, cut me some slack, will ya? I wasn't planning to leave anyways. My head still kinda hurts, so I was gonna take a nap."

Amy playfully glared at Sonic.

"If you say so, Sonic. I'll see if I can find a place that sells chilidogs and bring one back for you!"

Sonic's eyes were already closed, so he just gave Amy the thumbs up to let her know he heard. Amy closed the door behind her and made her way to the elevator down the hall. As she waited for the elevator to arrive, Amy thought of which stores to check out first. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice someone exiting the elevator until she bumped into him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean…"

Amy stopped talking when she saw who it was she ran into.

"Oh, no worries. It was an accident after all."

The person Amy ran into was James Hemberg.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Hemberg! Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I'm fine," he replied as he dusted himself off, "And please, call me James."

"Uh… what brings you here, Mr. Hem- I mean, James?"

"My residence is currently being decorated before I move in. For the moment, I'm living in the luxury suite on the top floor."

James studied Amy's expression.

"I thought you all had a plane to catch."

"Uh… yeah, well, Sonic was really tired, so we decided to stay here for the night."

"I see. And was that Tails I saw flying away in a blue plane a few hours ago."

"Uh… yes! Yes, it was. He wanted to fly around for a bit before it got dark."

"Is that so? Is Sonic here now?"

"Uh, yes, but he's sleeping. Siris said it was the best way for him to recover from his concussion."

James was confused.

"A concussion?"

"Uh…"

"Hm. Well, that's a surprise. I suppose I'll leave him alone for now. Where are you off to, I you don't mind me asking?"

"Uh… I was just leaving to go shopping."

"Is that so? Could I speak with you privately for a few minutes?"

"Huh? Uh… sure, I suppose I have time."

"Ok. Let's talk in the lobby. It's much more comfortable sitting in those soft chairs than just staning."

The two entered the elevator and headed for the lobby.

" _I wonder why he wants to talk to me. And why does Siris hate this guy? He seems to be a nice guy. I mean, looks can be deceiving, sure, but what's the harm in at least hearing him out?"_

The elevator arrived at the lobby and the two found a place to sit and talk.

"So," James began, "how do you like Blue Moon Village?"

"It's a very lovely town. Very different from the city life I'm used to."

"Good, good."

James sighed.

"Look, Amy… I have something to say that I think you and the others should know."

"What is it?"

"It's about Siris."

Amy began to feel nervous.

"What about Siris?"

"I've known him for years. And I'm sure he told you not to talk me, or even to stay away from me completely."

Amy was surprised.

"How did you know?"

"Hmph. Like I said, I've known Siris for years."

James sighed again.

 **(Music fades)**

"Listen, I probably shouldn't be the one telling you this, but I feel that I should; for your safety and the safety of your friends. Be careful around Siris."

Amy gave James a look.

"I can't say much, but here's what you should know; about two years ago, a terrible accident happened. People died. A lot. Siris was there and…"

"He blames himself?"

"Well… yes, but that's because it was his fault the accident occurred."

Amy was shocked.

"What? What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure. All I know is that Siris… lost it that day and his actions resulted in many deaths. He ran away and set up shop here. Heh. I guess him using that medical degree of his is his way of coping with the pain he's caused."

"I don't understand. What exactly did Siris do?"

"I wish I could tell you, Amy. I truly do. Rumor has it that he had a girlfriend that he loved very much. She had an affair, he found out, and he didn't take it well."

"How bad was the accident?"

"Very. If it wasn't for G.U.N., it might have escalated to mass destruction all across Station Square. The people were lucky that the incident was enclosed in just one building."

"That seems pretty extreme over an affair. He must have loved her very much."

"He did. He did indeed."

They sat there quietly for a minute.

"Uh… listen, Amy, I hope I didn't worry you. I just hate for you and your friends to get hurt. I've been keeping an eye on Siris for a while now. Since the accident, he's been busy doing things late at night, trying to find answers, as he once told me."

"But why does he hate you?"

"It's not that he hates me, it's more like he's just taking it out on me. He may blame himself, but he'd rather have someone else burden the pain than himself."

"I… see."

"Just keep you guard up. Lately, he seems to be getting worse. If something were to set him off again… I don't even want to think about it."

"Why are you watching him instead of G.U.N.?"

"They are. The fact is, I'm a G.U.N. agent."

Amy's eyes widened.

"Really?"

"Well… technically a former agent. When I received the estate, I had to resign. However, I promised them I would continue to watch over Siris and report to them with weekly updates."

Amy stared down to her hands; twiddling her thumbs.

"Is he dangerous?"

"Very. But don't worry. I'll keep a close eye on him. If it makes you feel better, I could call you guys whenever I think it's not a good time to see Siris."

"That's a generous offer, but we don't plan on staying for long."

"Well, in that case," James replied as he handed Amy a business card, "here's my card. You might not need it, but I'm sure there are others who might need it amongst your group."

"I'll think about it."

"Please do. Well, I must be going. I have many business meetings to deal with, now that my uncle is no longer here to deal with them. A pleasure talking with you."

James offered his hand, which Amy hesitantly shook.

"Same."

James nodded and left the hotel, leaving a conflicted Amy wondering what she should do with this information.

* * *

 _Siris House_

 **[ Sit Fer a Spell ]** (Uploaded by Ryan Ike) (0:00) **(Play it at 1.25x speed and loop until noted)**

Siris decided to stay home for the rest of the day once he and Sylvie got back. The clinic was still open, so if there was a patient, they could just knock on either the front door or the door to the clinic. It was now late in the afternoon, around 4:30 PM. He spent a couple of hours working on his device, struggling to get the correct voltage across a component, which he finally managed to correct. After the climatic battle with the device… **That sounded weird…** Siris took a break. With not much else to do and not in the mood to deal with the paperwork next door, he pulled out a dusty guitar from his closet. After giving it a quick dusting, he played a couple of songs he taught himself **(including this one)**. Since his days as Julian's slave, a lot has happened to Siris… **So much that it would take a whole 'nother chapter to write *cough cough*...** But one of the things he did was learn how to play the guitar and the piano. But, over time, he became too busy with his job and life, so he practically no time to play for fun. But for some reason, he had the urge to play today. So there he was, sitting on his couch, playing a tune from one of his favorite games. For his own amusement, he played it at a faster tempo than it was meant to be played. Nearby, standing a couple of feet away and just outside his peripheral, Sylvie watched with amazement as Siris strummed the strings with such speed and precision.

" _Siris is such a good guitar player. The song he's playing… it sounds both calming and sad at the same time."_

Sylvie kept watching Siris' hands as they seem to just glide over the strings. Although he couldn't see her, Siris knew she was there.

"Like the song?" he smirked without looking at her or even stopping.

Sylvie walked over and stood next to Siris.

"That's a very nice song."

Siris stopped playing for a moment.

 **(Stop music for now)**

"I think so too. Learned it by myself from listening to it from a video game over and over. Took me a couple of weeks, but I think I got it down. Still remember all the chords too."

Siris turned to face Sylvie.

"Would you like to hear what it normally sounds like?"

Sylvie nodded her head and Siris began playing again.

 **(Start from beginning. Play at normal speed and loop until further notice)**

Sylvie closed her eyes and listened to the music. A few seconds in, Siris looked up and noticed Sylvie had her eyes closed and was still standing.

"You can sit down, Sylvie. There's no need to just stand there and tire your legs," Siris explained, causing her to open her eyes, "Just sit down, relax, and enjoy the music."

Sylvie nodded and sat down on the carpet rug that laid in between the TV and the couch. Siris smiled and turned back to his guitar.

" _Glad I found something she seems to enjoy."_

As he continued playing, Siris wasn't aware at the time, but he was looking back at Sylvie; looking at how adorable she looked in her new clothes.

" _She sure looks amazing with those new clothes."_

Silence.

"Master?"

Siris snapped out of his trance, glad Sylvie hadn't noticed.

"Yes, Sylvie?"

"Could you play it like you did before?"

Siris smiled and nodded.

 **(Change the speed to 1.25 again… listen, you don't have to do this, but this is my story, so get over it!)**

As Siris picked up the tempo, he noticed Sylvie had a faint, but visible smile on her face. The sight made him feel warm and comfortable, something he hadn't felt for a long time. Not wanting to risk getting caught staring at her, Siris looked back at his guitar, even though Sylvie's eyes had closed again. For a while, the two just sat there, listening to the music.

 **(Listen for as long as you like. When you're ready, continue reading.)**

"Master is… kind, probably?"

Siris stopped strumming and looked at Sylvie.

 **(Stop music)**

"Hm? What was that, Sylvie?" asked Siris.

Sylvie looked up at Siris.

"Master is a doctor, right? A kind person?"

Siris was a little caught off guard with that question.

"Uh… well, yes, I am a kind person. But I'm just a humble town doctor," he replied.

"…'Just a humble town doctor'? Is there a difference?"

Siris pondered Sylvie's question for a moment.

"I suppose there isn't much difference. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious… I was wondering though…"

Sylvie paused.

"Go ahead, Sylvie, you can ask me anything."

"…Could I help you around the clinic?"

Siris bit his lower lip.

"As a slave, I'm sure I could be of use to you in the clinic. I could do something that doesn't involve treating patients."

Siris took a deep breath and sighed.

"Sylvie…"

Sylvie looked down at the ground.

"No, I understand. Master would prefer if no one saw me," she said before looking up again, "Someone as respectable as yourself shouldn't be seen with someone as pathetic as me."

That comment hurt Siris.

"No, not at all, Sylvie. It's not that I don't want you around. It's just that… Hmm… how do I explain?"

Siris drummed his fingers on his guitar while trying to find the right words.

"It's not the fact that I don't want you to help me out more, on your own accord. It's just that… you're a child and it wouldn't be appropriate for someone to have a child working around a clinic."

Sylvie took in Siris words. She opened her mouth to say something but changed her mind at the last second.

"However," Siris continued, "if something comes up and requires assistance, you will be the first person I will ask for help. How's that sound?"

Sylvie nodded.

"Okay then," said Siris.

He took a look at his communicator for the time.

"Wow, it's evening already? Time flies when you're having fun. I'll get dinner ready in a bit."

He got up and placed his guitar down on his work table before heading to the fridge to see what he could make. Sylvie intended to follow, but the glow from the blue orb caught her eye again. Siris looked over and saw. He closed the fridge and walked up to Sylvie, also entranced by the orb's glow.

"Why does Master have this?"

Siris turned his head and found himself face to face with Sylvie.

"It's… a long story. And one I'd rather not tell."

Sylvie turned away in shame.

"Oh. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable."

Siris patted her on the head.

"Nah, I'm fine. Just some bad memories that's all. And like I said before, I'll tell you about it someday. Just… not today."

"If that is your wish, Master."

Siris put his hand back down.

"Why don't you go rest for a little bit while I get dinner prepared. It'll only be a few minutes, Sylvie."

Sylvie nodded and went to her room. As soon as he was sure Sylvie was out of sight, Siris sighed and leaned against the small bookcase that displayed the orb to keep his balance. I small but annoying headache just shot through his head. Siris rubbed his forehead to relieve some of the pain. A moment later, the headache subsided. Siris shook his head and stared back at the orb.

"Rgggh," Siris quietly muttered to himself, "I hope it's not happening again…"

* * *

 _Some plains in the middle of a nowhere_

Rouge slowly opened her eyes. Her whole body ached as she sat up on the grass.

"Uugghh…" she moaned, "What happened?"

"We were knocked out by that robot leader."

Rouge turned to her right and looked up to see Shadow standing next to her, looking in the opposite direction she was sitting.

"He used a powerful electrical attack in an attempt to disable the three of us for capture and steal the Chaos Emerald, at the cost of his remaining soldiers," he explained.

Rouge's eyes widened and she shot up to her feet.

"Don't tell me they-"

"Negative."

Rouge turned around and saw Omega approaching.

"So, what happened?" Rouge asked.

Omega explained that after she and Shadow lost consciousness, he was briefly put on standby mode. He was able to recover fast enough and take action before the SWAT-bot had taken both the Chaos Emerald and Team Dark prisoner. After dealing with it, Omega moved Rouge and Shadow to a safe place to recover where he watched over both them and the Chaos Emerald. Some time later, Shadow woke up and Omega gave him the same explanation as he was doing now to Rouge.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"Approximately three hours," Omega replied.

"Well, thank you for saving us, Omega."

"Enough talk," said Shadow, "We still have a mission to do. Standing here doing nothing won't get us anywhere. We need to keep moving and find Sonic."

Rouge and Omega nodded in agreement just as Rouge's communicator beeped.

"Yes, this is Rouge."

" _ **Agent Rouge, this is the Commander. We've been trying to reach you and your team for a last two hours. Where have you been?"**_

"We were busy, dealing with some robots."

" _ **Robots? Was it Eggman? What happened?"**_

"We're not sure. Shadow and I were knocked out and Omega had to save us. We're fine now."

" _ **Did you lose the Chaos Emerald?"**_

"No."

" _ **Good. I presume Agent Shadow and Omega are with you as well."**_

"Correct."

" _ **Good. I have a new mission for the three of you."**_

"Another mission?"

" _ **That is correct, Agent Rouge. I'm sending you intel now."**_

Rouge pressed a couple of buttons on her communicator and a hologram appeared above her wrist.

"What are we looking at?" Shadow asked.

" _ **This is live footage from the beach of Emerald Coast in Station Square."**_

The three watched the video closely. In the middle of the screen was a blackish-purple vortex that was floating a couple of feet above the sands of Emerald Coast. Rouge recognized the immediate building nearby the portal as the Station Square Hotel, which was one of the few areas that housed a Chao Garden.

"What is that?" Rouge asked.

" _ **That's what I want the three of you to find out. We've never seen anything like this before. That's why I'm sending in the best: you."**_

"Mission objectives?" Omega asked.

" _ **Your mission is to get to that vortex and find out what its purpose is. If possible, eliminate it quickly. We don't want this to get out of hand and having innocent civilians harmed or killed. This mission is top priority, even over the search for the Chaos Emeralds. Once you have dealt with the vortex, return to HQ. Shadow, I'm giving you permission to use the Chaos Emerald as you see fit. Just don't go destroying buildings."**_

"Understood."

" _ **Then begin your… what the hell?"**_

Shadow, Rouge, and Omega saw what the Commander was referring to. On the monitor, they saw two figures emerge from the portal. They couldn't determine who or what they were, but on looked to be Mobian and the other looked like a large egg…

"Eggman?" they all gasped.

* * *

 _Sunset Heights_

At the same time that Team Dark was seeing the vortex, so was the rest of the world. Well, at least anyone who was watching the news. Silver, Cream, Vanilla, and a few "former" Resistance members stopped working and saw the news on the large screen within the Resistance HQ. Silver's eyes widened when he saw the large figure stand up on screen.

"Eggman?" he gasped.

 **[ Boss – Dark Gaia (Running) – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Everyone else stared and muttered to one another, wondering if Eggman had returned. Suddenly, the large figure lurched over to the smaller figure and appeared to smash their face into the sand repeatedly. The picture wasn't clear enough to see who the figures were, but Silver had a strange feeling he knew. The smaller figure then tripped the larger figure over and kicked them away while trying to flee. The larger figure managed to grab the smaller figure by the ankle and pull them back. But just before the smaller figure was dragged away, they managed to get far enough away from the vortex so everyone could see them better. When Silver saw their face, he immediately lifted off the ground and flew out of the building.

* * *

 _A few miles away from Station Square_

Silver flew faster than he ever did before. His brain was straining from the amount of concentration necessary to keep him levitated and to fly quickly. It had been nearly twenty minutes and he had already flow nearly 500 miles, a speed that would even amaze Sonic. His body cried in pain, begging him to slow down and relax. He didn't care. He knew they needed help. His help. And he'd be damned if this wasn't a sign. He only needed a couple more minutes to get there…

Meanwhile, the two figures continued their struggle on the beach. The smaller one was unable to see because of the sand in their eyes, leaving their options to either run away or swing wildly, both while blind. They chose both. Another swing and another miss.

"Aw, what's wrong?" tauned 'Eggman', "Can't find your prey? I'm surprised you've managed to last this long!"

The small figure tried once more to attack where she heard the voice from. Another miss. 'Eggman' snickered and kicked the figure in the stomach, causing them to get the wind knocked out of them and collapse on the ground. Tears started forming in their eyes.

" _So, this is it… I'm going to die here… how appropriate. I've failed my duties… and now he's going to win."_

'Eggman' walked up and pressed a foot against the figure's throat.

"Say your prayers, _Princess_ ," he sneered.

The figure braced for the inevitable end. But it never came. As soon as 'Eggman' started to increase the pressure on his victim's throat, a beach chair was sent flying into his face, sending him back a few feet.

"Don't you dare touch her!" she heard a voice cry out.

She slowly raised her head and opened her eyes. There was still debris in them, so she still couldn't see. But that voice…

"Argh… of all the dimensions and worlds, we just had to end up here…" 'Eggman' mumbled, "How nice to see you again, Silver."

"What are you doing here, Nega?" Silver asked.

" _Silver?"_

Eggman Nega looked up and gave Silver an evil grin as he repositioned his glasses.

"Why should I tell you my secret plans? If I tell you, then they won't be a secret anymore!" he laughed, "Ah, but no matter. I guess I'll just have to finish her, and now you, quickly."

Behind his back, Eggman Nega pulled out a pistol and aimed it at the psychokinetic hedgehog.

"Say farewell to your boyfriend, Princess Blaze," he sneered as he pulled the trigger multiple times.

Shockingly, Silver didn't even flinch. Unless you call activating your psychokinesis as flinching, of course. Once he fired 10 shots at Silver, Eggman Nega lowered his weapon and stared with confusion at the hedgehog, lost for words.

"It's been only a couple of years, and you've already forgotten?" Silver smirked as he held the bullets midair with his abilities, "Bullets don't work on me."

Silver then released the bullets and Eggman Nega watched as they embedded themselves into the sand. Swearing under his breath for forgetting that little fact, he turned his attention to Blaze and smiled.

"You maybe. But how about her?" Eggman Nega smrkied as he raised his gun.

Silver glared and psychokinetically froze Eggman Nega in place.

"What?"

Silver sighed.

"You've really lost it, haven't you, Nega?" Silver asked a struggling Eggman Nega, "You're as bad as Eggman, stooping so low just to get what you want."

"Why, thank you, Silver. It's such an honor to hear that from-"

 ***WHAM* (Record scratch, stop the music)**

Not wanting to hear another word from the Eggman doppelganger, Silver threw him against the wall and knocked him out. After Nega landed on the ground, Silver walked over to his body. Although he was showing a calm demeanor, inside was another story; Silver was fueled with rage. After seeing what he was doing to Blaze and aimed a gun at her, especially when she was defenseless, Silver was contemplating doing the unspeakable. After so much time and against all odds, Silver was able to see Blaze again. And Nega almost took her life. He probably would have gone through with it, had Shadow not appeared in front of him in a blink of an eye.

"Shadow?!"

The black hedgehog had his back to Silver. He looked over his shoulder, giving Silver a look.

"Leave him to us, Silver," he said calmly, "You should take care of your friend."

Silver has half tempted to push Shadow out of the way and finish off Nega, but the way Shadow was looking at Silver snapped him out of his rage. Silver released his fists and slowly turned toward Blaze, who was still on the ground. Between her and Silver were Rouge and Omega. They approached Shadow as he contacted G.U.N. HQ to report the situation. Silver walked over to Blaze. She was still trying to get the sand out of her eyes, but she was having some trouble with a few grains embedded in her eyelids.

"Here, let me help."

Blaze stopped wiping her eyes and froze.

"Try and hold your eyes open while I get the sand out."

Blaze slowly nodded and forced open her eyes. Due to the tears and debris in them, everything looked blurry and hazy. Suddenly, a shade of fluorescent blue covered her eyes for a moment, just before vanishing completely.

"Better?"

Blaze blinked and rubbed her eyes for a couple of seconds, trying to recover her vision, before she could see clearly again.

"Yes, thank you," said Blaze.

She then turned and saw Silver beaming down on her.

 **[ Dreams of an Absolution – (No Vocals) (Unreleased) – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Silver?"

Blaze's eyes widened, uncertain if her ears and eyes were playing tricks on her for the past couple of minutes. Silver smiled shyly at her.

"Hey, Blaze."

Silver offered her a hand and helped her up to her feet. As he did, a crowd of people nearby cheered and clapped for Silver's heroic deed. He didn't pay them any heed; his best friend **(and person he had feelings for)** was standing in front of him for the first time in almost two years.

"Um, Silver?"

"Yeah?"

"You can let go of my hand now."

Silver looked down and noticed he was still holding Blaze's hand, which he then immediately released.

"Sorry… I, uhhh…"

Silver tried to come up with an excuse while hiding his blush.

"No, no… it's, uh… it's fine, Silver…"

Rouge was watching them from the distance.

" _Aw, how sweet. Those two are in love,"_ she thought to herself.

"So… are you okay?" Silver asked.

Blaze, who was also blushing, shook her head and turned towards Eggman Nega.

"Yeah, I'm fine now. Thank you, Silver."

"Anytime, Blaze. But what are you doing here in Sonic's world? I thought you had to protect the Sol Emeralds back on your world."

Blaze's face changed in a heartbeat from a calm demeanor to a furious one. If you couldn't tell by her face, then look at her hands; they're starting to smoke. She stormed over the Nega, who had just regained consciousness and was sitting against the wall, handcuffed. An aura of fire began to swirl around Blaze as she approached him, making Eggman Nega a very scared villain.

"Where are they?!" she bellowed.

"Wha? What are you talking about Blaze?" Nega asked nervously.

"Don't play your games with me, Nega," she warned, "I know you stole them, now where are the others?"

Blaze's flames grew stronger and harsher with each passing second.

"I-I-I don't know! Honest!"

Blaze tried to grab him, but Silver and Shadow held her back.

"We'll handle it," said Shadow.

"Blaze, what's going on?" asked Silver.

She continued to struggle against their grips, dearly trying to get to Nega.

"He stole the Sol Emeralds from me after he cowardly ambushed me with a rocket explosion! It knocked me out for only a moment, but that was all the time he needed to steal them! Now I must get the rest of them back!"

Silver was confused.

"What do you mean- OW! Stop struggling, Blaze!" Silver told her after she accidentally hit him in the mouth.

Blaze began to calm down and her flames died out.

" _Still the same old Blaze,"_ Silver thought to himself as he wiped a small amount of blood from his mouth.

Blaze noticed the blood and felt guilty.

"Sorry about that, Silver. I was just…"

"It's alright."

The five heroes then turned their attention back to Nega. Shadow walked up and gave him a threatening glare.

"Tell the girl what she wants to know."

"Or what?" Nega chuckled, "Are you going to torture me? Make me beg?"

Nega's history with Shadow is a short one, to say the least **(Sonic Rivals 2)** , so tempting Shadow with the idea probably wasn't the best choice of words on his part.

"Nega," Shadow said darkly, "let me give you one word of advice…"

The others watched as Shadow whispered something into Nega's ear.

 **Sorry, been watching Justice League again… the animated series, obviously. *Silence* Yeah… So… how are you guys? Me? Oh, I'm just… waiting for Shadow to finish his advice. Nice weather? Yes? No? Maybe? Halloween was a few weeks ago. Yeah… Halloween is coming up soon in the story though. Got some cool ideas I think you guys might like. Here's a little sneak peek I- *Shadow taps my shoulder* Hm? Oh, you're done? Okay, then…**

"Alright, alright, I'll tell her!" Nega cried out.

Rouge turned to Omega, wondering if he heard what Shadow said. His shrug answered her question.

Shadow pulled Nega up and pushed him towards Blaze.

"Here's the honest truth, Princess. I didn't attack you nor did I steal any of the Sol Emeralds."

Shadow rolled his eyes and said, "Blaze, set his ass on fire."

"WAIT! WAIT! HEAR ME OUT, WILL YOU!?"

Shadow sighed.

"Then tell her what she wants to know, Nega. I'm losing my patience," he said.

"Hmph. Still a ray of sunshine," Nega muttered before looking back at Blaze, "It's true, I didn't steal the Emeralds. However, I was planning to and I was about to attack you as well. But…! Before I could begin, some shadow figure appeared and ruined all my creations; my plans were ruined. I watched as he took off toward the palace. I saw him enter undetected and seconds later, a huge explosion occurred. That must have been what knocked you out. A moment later, I saw him take off towards the distance, with the Sol Emeralds in hand. I followed close behind to see where he was going. That's when I saw where he was going; a portal. The same one that sits right there. I couldn't allow someone else to get away with my Emeralds, so I attacked him. He dropped the Emeralds, but he fought back. He was incredible. Power I had never seen before. And such hatred in those green eyes. I offered him a partnership, but he refused. I tried to capture him, but he just vanished. Before I knew it, he had recovered four of the Sol Emeralds and jumped through the portal. That's when you arrived, Princess."

Everyone turned to Blaze.

"Green eyes…" she muttered to herself.

"Blaze, do you know what he's talking about?" Rouge asked.

Blaze tried to remember what happened.

"I do recall seeing a pair of dull green eyes a second before I was knocked out," she said before turning to Nega, "I suppose he could be telling the truth. Do what you want with him. I have a task to complete."

The members of Team Dark escorted Nega away, awaiting extraction at the request of G.U.N. HQ. Blaze turned away and began walking along the beach. Silver ran up next to her.

"Hold on, Blaze!"

"Hm?"

Blaze stopped and turned around; waiting for Silver to catch up.

"What did you mean by 'the rest of them'?" he asked.

"Oh."

Blaze reached into her inventory and revealed three Sol Emeralds; blue, red, and violet.

"I managed to recover these before me and Nega fought through the portal."

She sighed.

"Looks like I now have a longer search than I had hoped."

"Well… I could help you, Blaze."

Blaze looked at Silver.

"Really? I mean… I'd hate to burden you with this task, I can do it by myself."

"It's no trouble at all, Blaze. Besides, it's been a long time since we hung out. I don't mind taking a break from rebuilding to help you find the Sol Emeralds."

Blaze slightly blushed, turning away so Silver wouldn't see.

"That's… very nice of you, Silver. Thank you."

Silver put a hand on her shoulder.

"So, where should we look first?" he asked.

"Well…" she replied, "might as well start wandering for now. The Sol Emeralds have the ability to attract and repel each other. So guess is as good as mine."

Silver looked down along Emerald Coast.

"Guess we'll start here, then."

"Lead the way, Silver."

Silver levitated above the ground and the two took off along the beach.

"By the way, Silver?"

"Yeah?"

"What did you mean by 'taking a break from rebuilding'? Did something happen?"

"Blaze…" Silver chuckled, "boy, do I have a story to tell you."

As Silver began telling Blaze about Infinite and how Eggman conquered most of the world, the two took off into the sunset.

 **(Music fades)**

Shadow went to check the portal but found nothing.

"Hmm…"

Rouge walked up to him from behind.

"Something wrong, Shadow?"

"The portal is gone."

"Well, that's one problem solved."

Shadow remained silent.

"Something on your mind?" Rouge asked.

"…I feel like I've seen that portal before..."

Rouge gave Shadow and uncertain look.

"Never mind. Let's get back to HQ. They'll want to hear our report as soon as possible," said Shadow.

He then turned to Rouge.

"Call the Chaotix. Tell them to keep searching for the Chaos Emeralds."

"You think this might be related to why we need the Chaos Emeralds?"

Shadow closed his eyes.

"I'm not sure. But I wouldn't disregard the possibility."

The two left the area to join Omega at the extraction point.

* * *

 _Blue Moon Hotel_

It had been a few hours since James told Amy about Siris. Before she left to go shopping, Amy stayed and pondered over what she was told. She didn't know what to believe or if she could believe either of them. She's only known Siris and James for a couple of hours… well, Siris at least, and James' only credibility was his social status. After an hour of thinking, Amy decided it wasn't worth worrying over since she doesn't know Siris and gave him the benefit of the doubt. To help get her mind off things, she went out and explored Blue Moon Village for the time being. Now she was coming back to the hotel with a couple of new dresses she found to be adorable. Unfortunately, she couldn't find any place that served chilidogs. **(Don't tell Sonic. He won't be happy with me.)** As she entered the hotel, she ran into Tails, Mighty, and Ray.

 **[ Hub – White World – Sonic Generations Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Guys!" she called out, waving, "Over here!"

The three turned and saw her.

"Hey, Amy," greeted Tails.

"What are you guys doing down here?" asked Amy.

Ray gave her a childish smile.

"I lost the keycard for our room," he explained.

Mighty glared at him.

"No, you didn't! You flippin' dropped it into a puddle of oil and now it's unusable!"

"I did?"

Mighty showed Ray the black card.

"Huh. So that's what happened to it," Ray nervously laughed, "Sorry."

"We'll meet up with you and Sonic in a little bit, Amy," said Tails.

"Okay, Tails. See you boys in a few!"

And with that, Amy hurried over to the elevator, making it inside just in time before the doors closed. A minute later, she reached her hotel room and walked inside. It took her only a microsecond to notice the empty beds and no blue hedgehog resting. Her eye twitched a couple of times as she took a huge breath and…

"Oh, hey, Amy."

Amy turned to her right and watched Sonic exit out of the bathroom. She sighed in relief and placed her shopping bags on one of the beds.

"You feeling alright? You're looking really red," said Sonic.

"I'm fine, Sonic. For a moment, I thought you left the hotel behind my back."

Sonic smirked and let out a soft chuckle.

"Not gonna lie, Amy; the thought did cross my mind."

"But you didn't."

Sonic shrugged and hopped back into bed.

"Sonic, be careful! You're still healing," Amy exclaimed.

"Nah, I think I'm fine now. The headaches are all gone, my wounds have all healed, I feel great!"

Amy sighed and sent Siris a message.

"Your telling Siris, aren't you?"

"Yup."

"Alright, fine. Whatever."

Amy gave Sonic a look just as she sent the message.

"What?"

"Do you have to make everything sound so unimportant?"

"Amy, I told you; I'm fine now. The headaches-"

"Sonic, do you ever worry?!"

That gave Sonic a pause.

"I always worry, Amy. About you, Tails, everyone."

"No, I mean do you ever worry about yourself?"

"Eh, not really," he shrugged.

Amy was getting really irritated.

"So, you don't care about what could happen if you don't fully recover?!"

"Well, yesterday, yeah. Siris told me about what could happen if I pushed myself too hard before my head was done healing."

"And what did he say?"

Sonic was now looking nervous as he bit his lower lip.

"Uuuhhhh…"

Amy put her hands on her hips and glared.

"I'm waiting, Sonic."

"Well… nothing too serious… just some temporary side effects."

"Bullshit, Sonic!" shouted a voice from the doorway.

Sonic and Amy turned towards the source of the voice and saw Siris standing there.

"I got your message, Amy. I thought it'd be easier to explain in person and in private," Siris explained as he, Tails, Mighty, and Ray entered the room.

"Did you go with them?" Sonic asked Siris.

"To the base? No. I ran over here and met them in the hallway."

Sonic looked puzzled.

"In case you've forgotten about earlier, I can run fast too, hedgehog."

"Fair enough."

"What did you mean earlier, Siris?" Amy asked.

"He was lying, Amy. The complications are not something to joke around with. They could lead to crippling, if not fatal, results," Siris explained.

Amy glared angrily at Sonic, who nervously smiled and shrugged.

"What kind of complications?" she growled through gritted teeth.

"Amy-"

"Shut up, Sonic!" she screamed, "I want to know!"

Siris sighed.

"Amy, I understand that you're worried about Sonic's wellbeing, but don't you think Sonic is just trying to not make you worried?"

Amy turned and glared at Siris.

"You're taking his side?!"

Siris held up his hands.

"I'm not saying you shouldn't know, but like I said, the consequences are really bad. In his defense, I think he'd prefer if you didn't know for fear if you did, you would just baby him for a whole week."

Siris turned to Sonic.

"Even if he had full healed much sooner," he finished.

"It's just… I don't want to see him hurt himself," Amy said sadly, "After he was captured by Eggman and Infinite a year ago… I don't know what I would have done if Sonic was killed. I just don't want to lose him…"

Sonic got up and hugged Amy.

"Amy…" said Sonic, "I'm not gonna hurt myself. I know when to limit myself."

Amy looked up into Sonic's eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better, I'll prove to you right now that I'm ready for adventuring again."

"R-really?"

"Really!"

He turned to Siris.

"If that's fine with you, doc."

Siris deadpanned.

"Don't call me that. I hate it."

He then softened his expression.

"But, sure. You can prove it…" he answered, "And I have the perfect test."

Tails walked up next to Siris.

"Are you sure? I thought you said he would need a few days of rest," the kitsune reminded them.

Siris leaned over and whispered into Tails' ear.

"Don't worry. I had this planned just in case something like this would happen."

Siris turned back to Sonic.

"Before we begin, I need a drink. Is there a glass anywhere?"

Everyone else in the room gave Siris a look.

"What?"

"Uh… how old are you?" Ray asked.

Siris looked at Ray and smiled with disbelief.

"You and Mighty have known me for how long and you've never asked?"

"Uh…"

"I'm 21."

The room fell into strange and confused silence that lasted for a few seconds.

"HUH!?" they all cried out.

"What?"

"You're 21?!" Sonic cried out.

"Yeeeaah… and?"

"And you're a doctor?!" Sonic continued.

"Yes. Do I need to give everyone another gold star or something?"

 **You know, stickers. What, did you think this was a Mario reference? Pffft. Last thing I need is Nintendo to kick me in the ass.**

"How did you manage to get a medical license in just 11 years!?"

Siris rolled his eyes.

"You'd be amazed of what I have learned as a slave, Sonic. The only good thing Julian ever did for me was force up to two years' worth of college education down my throat in one month," he explained, "But that's not important right now. Can I have that glass, please? It's not for booze, I promise."

Amy blinked a couple of times before she walked over to the minibar and grabbed one of the glasses placed next to it. She then handed it to Siris.

"Thank you. Gimme a sec."

Siris walked into the bathroom and came back out a few seconds later, glass filled with water.

"Alright, Sonic," Siris said as he took a sip, "you claim to be the fastest thing alive, correct?"

Sonic looked confused.

"Uh, yeah."

"So, that means you run at insane speeds, right?"

"Yeeeaaah."

"Does that mean you also have fast reflexes?"

Sonic stared at Siris.

"Yeah. Why?"

Siris walked up to Sonic and stopped when he was a couple of feet away.

"Heads up," Siris smirked as he tossed the water at Sonic.

*Splash*

"HEY!" Sonic shouted, "What was that for!?"

Everyone stared at Siris as he laughed.

"Well, there you guys have it. Sonic, get back into bed and rest."

"Huh? What about my test?"

"You failed. Miserably."

"Huh?"

"You said you had fast reflexes. If that was the case, I'm sure you wouldn't be wet right now."

Sonic was starting to catch on.

"So… I can't run yet?"

Siris shook his head.

"Nope."

Sonic sighed and sadly laid in bed.

"You might feel better right now, Sonic, but that doesn't mean you've healed yet. Concussions take a bit longer. I'm sorry, but for the time being, you need to rest."

Sonic nodded and sighed.

"Amy, did you manage to bring me any chilidogs?"

Amy's eyes widened.

" _Oh, no… he's gonna lose it…"_ she thought.

"Sonic…" she began.

"They serve chilidogs down in the hotel kitchen," said Tails, "Want me to order you one?"

" _Phew… Thank you, Tails."_

"Make it three," Sonic told him.

"Let me guess… high metabolism?" Siris asked.

"Yup," Sonic, Tails, and Amy said simultaneously.

"Not surprised."

Siris took a look around and noticed someone was missing.

"Hey, where's Knuckles?"

"He left town," Tails explained, "He chose to continue his search for the Master Emerald shards and glided off a couple minutes after we left the clinic this morning."

Siris nodded.

"I see… Well, no need for me to stick around. I'm heading home. See ya around," said Siris and he made his way out of the room.

Sonic looked over.

" _Hm… If I'm gonna be stuck doing nothing for a next couple of days, maybe he could tell us what he's been up to these past few years."_

"Hey, Siris?"

Siris stopped and looked over his shoulder.

"Why don't you come over again tomorrow and hang out?" Sonic asked.

Siris was a bit surprised.

"Uh… I'll be busy, Sonic. And I don't think-"

"Aw, come on, Siris. You said you'd meet with me and Ray tomorrow at lunch," Mighty pointed out, "Why not have them join us as well?"

"Well, that would be a great idea, Mighty. The thing is, there's a lot of things I would have to talk about. And it would be rude to just talk about me."

"You don't have to tell us everything, Siris," said Amy, "It's not like we're therapists or anything."

Siris sighed.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have lunch with you guys."

"Sweet!" Sonic cheered, "So tomorrow around noon?"

"Noon it is then," said Siris.

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, have a good night," said Siris as he waved behind and left the room.

"Night, Siris," they replied.

Everyone stood silently.

"Hold on a second!" they heard Siris exclaim.

They watched as he came back into the room and walked to Sonic. He stopped next to the bed and held his palm out.

"Come on, pay up," Siris smirked.

Sonic moaned.

"Seriously?!" he exclaimed.

"Yup. Now gimme the 100 rings."

Sonic muttered something that would probably have resulted in this story being rated M as he begrudgingly reached into his inventory and pulled out an item box filled with 100 rings and tossed it to Siris.

"Pleasure doing business with you," Siris smirked as he left the room.

The room was once again silent. Tails, Mighty, and Ray looked at Sonic with puzzled looks. Sonic shook his head, indicating he wasn't gonna say anything.

 **(Music fades)**

"It's getting kinda late. I think we should call it a night," said Mighty.

Ray nodded.

"Shouldn't we discuss what you guys found at the base?" Sonic suggested, "Besides, I'm starving. Those chilidogs sure would be nice right now."

"We didn't find much, Sonic," Tails explained.

He reached into his inventory and pulled out a floppy disk.

"That's it? A floppy?" Sonic asked.

Tails shook his head.

"Sorry, Sonic. But there was nothing at all in the base. We were lucky just to find this floppy under an old computer monitor," said Tails.

He flipped the floppy over and inspected it.

"I haven't checked to see if there's any data on it yet. There's a title written on it, called 'NV-001'," Tails explained before looking at Sonic, "Have any idea what it could mean? You and the Freedom Fighters have infiltrated his base many times in the past, does this mean anything to you?"

Sonic closed his eyes and thought long and hard.

"Mmmm… nothing comes to mind. If anything, why would Julian have used a floppy?"

Tails shrugged.

"Well, let's get some sleep. We can look at it in the morning," said Ray.

Everyone agreed. Mighty and Ray headed to their room across from Sonic's and went off to bed. Tails went down and **(miraculously at this hour)** managed to grab a couple of chilidogs for Sonic and some sandwiches for himself and Amy. After dinner, Tails let Amy sleep in his bed, since there were only two beds in the room and Sonic should have uninterrupted sleep to recover faster.

 **No, it wasn't because Tails thought Sonic and Amy would do THAT. The story is still young, my (lewd thinking) readers.**

As Sonic and Amy drifted to sleep, Tails was sitting at the table, curiously studying the floppy disk.

" _Hmm… it looks like the writing says 'NV-1001'… but it looks so… strange. The title has faded a bit over the years, but the 'V' and the second '1' just seem… off."_

Tails tried to think of any other possible name that could be written on the floppy. After an hour, he gave up and fell asleep in the chair.

Meanwhile, back at his house, Siris was lying in bed, thinking about the discussion he and the others had back at the hotel. Siris was excited to have new and reacquainted friends, or friends again in general, but something bugged Siris about what Amy said.

" _You don't have to tell us everything, Siris. It's not like we're therapists or anything."_

"Why'd she say it like that?" Siris muttered to himself.

He decided to let it go and try to get some sleep.

 _Three hours later…_

Sonic, Tails, and Amy were peacefully sleeping in their hotel room. It was quiet and dark. Perfect for the dark intruder to sneak in undetected.

"Hmhmhm," he chuckled softly as he made his way over to Sonic.

The intruder pulled out a knife, intending to be rid of the hedgehog once and for all from this world. As he raised his weapon above Sonic's chest, his earpiece rang.

"Yes?" he answered in a quiet voice, "I'm already here… I can end him now… What…? Is that wise…? No, no, I wasn't questioning you… Understood."

He glared at Sonic.

"You're lucky the lord wants to keep you alive," he muttered.

The intruder walked over to Tails. He had fallen asleep with the floppy covered with his hand on the table. With care, the intruder slid the floppy away from Tails' hand and put it away in his inventory. He then placed a different floppy disk, which looked identical to the other one, right next to Tails' hand. Checking his surroundings to make sure no one noticed him, he quickly made his escape before he was compromised.

* * *

 _*** October 14, 2020 ***_

 _Siris' Home_

The sun had barely even begun rising when Siris' communicator went off. The hedgehog slowly opened his eyes. He stretched out his arms and yawned before answering.

"Hello?" he mumbled, still half-asleep.

" _Siris, its Tails. I need to speak with you immediately."_

Siris sighed.

"Please tell me Sonic didn't do something idiotic," he moaned.

" _I heard that!"_ Sonic shouted in the background.

" _No, that's not it. I was going through the data that was on the floppy and I think you should see this,"_ Tails explained.

Siris looked at the time on his alarm clock, since he could check it on his communicator and talk to Tails at the same time.

"Tails, it's not even six. Can this wait until noon?"

" _I think you'd prefer to see it now."_

"Why?"

" _Just meet us at the café in half an hour."_

"Alright," Siris sighed, "See ya soon."

* * *

 _Blue Moon Village Café_

"'Just meet me at the café in half an hour'," Siris mimicked, "Where is he? It's been nearly 45 minutes."

"Is something wrong, Siris?"

Siris looked up from his breakfast and turned to his right; at Sylvie's face. They were sitting at one of the booths in the café, waiting for Tails and the others. They already finished their breakfast 15 minutes ago.

"I'm fine. It's just a friend of mine really wants to show me something urgent this morning. Said it couldn't wait until noon."

"Why did you bring me along?"

Siris shrugged.

"I dunno. Figured you'd like to go out some more now that you have better clothes."

The café doors opened, and Tails and Amy walked in. Siris waved them over.

" _Why is Amy here? I thought Tails was coming alone."_

"Morning, Tails. Amy."

"Morning."

"Morning, Siris. Who's your friend?" asked Amy.

Sylvie nervously turned to Siris. He smiled and nodded. Sylvie turned to the others.

"My name is… Sylvie. Nice to meet you."

Amy gasped.

"Oh, my God, that is the cutest name ever~!"

Amy reached over and shook Sylvie's hands.

"I'm Amy Rose."

"Uh, Amy?"

"I love that dress of yours. Where did you get it?"

"Amy?"

"That blue goes so well with your color and quills! I wonder if-"

"Amy!"

She turned to Tails.

"You're making her nervous," Tails explained.

"Huh?"

Amy turned back to Sylvie and saw that she was looking uncomfortable.

"Oh, sorry," said Amy as she released Sylvie's hands.

"Uh… I'm fine," said Sylvie.

Siris looked over to his left and saw Nephy approaching them.

"Hello. New friends of Sris?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," Tails answered.

Nephy smirked at Siris, who just rolled his eyes at her.

"Well, nice to meet ya. I'm Nephy, waitress of this fine establishment. You guys want anything to eat?"

Tails and Amy shook their heads.

"Nah, we're good. We ate earlier at the hotel," Amy explained, "Thanks anyways."

"That so? Well, if you need anything just holler," said Nephy as she walked away to serve other customers.

Siris cleared his throat to get Tails and Amy's attention.

"So, what's up? Why couldn't this wait until noon?"

Tails nervously took out two floppy disks and a electronic device.

"Yesterday, I found an old floppy disk while searching through that old base Sonic told us about," he explained, "I was going through the data earlier this morning and found something rather… disturbing."

Siris gave him a look.

"Knowing Julian's insanity, I wouldn't be surprised. Why are you telling me this? I'm not a part of the team and we hardly know each other. So why bring tell me this?"

 **[ Free Mood Music | Soundscape Background Music – 'Into Uncertainty' ]** (Uploaded by OurMusicBox) (0:00) (Loop)

Tails bit his lower lip as he inserted one of the floppies into device.

"I tweaked one of my old Miles Electric devices to read floppy disks last night."

He handed the device to Siris.

"What's on it?" asked Siris.

"See for yourself."

Siris looked down at the device and took a look. The image on the screen sent a chill down his spine and quills. He swiped a finger across the screen and saw another photo. Then another, and another. His finger went faster as he scrolled through the photos. Once Siris saw the last photo, he yanked the floppy disk our of the device and shoved it into his inventory as he handed back the device to Tails.

"How much did you see?"

Tails sighed.

"Only four."

Siris' eyes shifted to Amy.

"Why are you here, Amy?"

Amy licked her lips nervously.

"I, uh… saw one of the photos…" she muttered.

Siris raised a brow.

"Okay… but why are you here?" he asked again.

Amy hung her head.

"I heard… things about you," she admitted with guilt.

Siris was beginning to worry.

"What kind of things?"

There was a long moment of silence before Amy replied.

"I was told that… you caused an accident a couple of years ago…"

Siris interlaced his fingers and put his hands on the table.

"And that you went crazy and got people killed."

Sylvie nervously turned to Siris.

" _Siris… hurt people…? Is he as bad as my previous master?"_

Siris glanced over to Tails. Judging from his reaction, Siris could tell Amy already told Tails what she heard. Siris closed his eyes and sighed.

"Does Sonic know about any of this?" he asked.

Tails and Amy shook their heads.

"… I'd prefer to keep it that way."

Tails and Amy had mixed feelings towards Siris.

"So… you're not denying it?" Tails asked.

"I never said that."

Siris turned to Sylvie and saw the look she was giving him; it tore at his heart with guilt. He sighed and turned back to Tails and Amy.

"Look, I could explain what happened in those photos… but I can't."

"Can't or won't?" Amy asked, sounding a bit harsher than she meant.

"I… it's… rrrgghh… it's not that I want to keep secrets from any of you, but… I'm not ready."

Tails and Amy looked at one another and back at Siris.

"What do you mean?" Tails asked.

Siris twiddled his thumbs in silence for a couple of seconds before replying.

"I have done bad things in the past. To be honest, not everything bad I have done is even in these photos," he admitted.

The three stared at Siris with shock.

"I have many regrets and have made my mistakes. But I swear to you, I am not the bad guy."

Siris' voice was beginning to sound as though he was about to cry.

"There are things that have happened that I don't want to discuss. It's not because I want to hide something from anyone, it's just… the memories are too painful for me to handle. And right now, we've only just met yesterday. You guys don't know me, I don't know you. I wouldn't blame you guys if you told Sonic everything that you know, or think you know. As far as I'm concerned, I'm just a guy from Sonic's past who he just so happened to come across again."

Tails and Amy began to pity Siris, but felt that they couldn't trust him.

"However…" Siris continued.

Tails and Amy looked back up.

"However, if you guys would give me time and a chance… I'd be willing to open up and explain everything to you guys. Someday."

Tails thought about it for a moment, while Amy debated whether or not it was worth the trouble.

"Of course… heh… that won't happen either way," Siris said softly.

"Hm? Why's that, Siris?" Tails asked.

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Siris remarked, "You guys have a world to save. It's not like you guys are going to be staying here for a while or come back after your adventure."

Amy lowered her ears. She was so content on staying away from Siris and keeping the others away. But Siris raised a good point. It wasn't like Blue Moon Village was going to be their next vacation spot after another adventure. By Siris' logic, there was no way for him to explain himself without being forced to. And Amy wouldn't do that to anyone without hearing them defend themselves… unless it was Sonic and he forgot about their date.

"How… how much time would you need?" she asked politely.

"… Honestly, I don't know."

Tails sighed.

"Well… there's one other thing, Siris."

Siris turned to the kitsune.

"And that is…?"

"There's another file on that floppy you have; an audio file."

Siris reluctantly pulled out the floppy and handed it to Tails.

"I hope you don't intend to use this in a court. I really don't want to be forced to go through…"

Siris sighed.

"Just don't make a copy… or destroy any you already have and tell anyone else. Please?"

Tails looked into Siris' eyes. He wasn't sure if he could trust him, but something in Siris' eyes was telling him to give him a chance. Tails nodded and reinserted the disk into the Miles Electric. He pressed a couple of buttons and an audio file played.

" _ ***zzz* -ss, are you sure this will work?"**_

" _ **Of course, it will work, you square-headed idiot! You think I went through all the trouble of having you get me this recorder just to waste your time!?"**_

" _ **Uuuuhhh… is this a trick question?"**_

" _***CLANG* "**_

" _**Uh, boss? You do realize that we are both needed to deliver that voice message to Sonic, right?"**_

" _ **Oh, relax, Orbot! Cubot will be up in no time. Nnnggghh! *SLAM* This is unacceptable! No one should control the world but me!"**_

" _ **Boss, if I may ask, why is this guy so important?"**_

" _ **Wha?"**_

" _ **The one you are asking Sonic to seek out."**_

" _ **Oh, him… I've researched him over the years. He's fast, strong, powerful… dangerous."**_

" _ **Then why have-"**_

" _ **Because Sonic will need all the help he can get! Combined, Sonic, Shadow, Silver, and Siris will be able to overcome the power this so called 'Lord' claims it will have when it has all the Emeralds."**_

" _ **But… what if you're wrong?"**_

" _ **Then the world is doomed… Someone's coming! Quick, take that unconscious idiot and the recorder and get to work! Find *zzz*"**_

The audio file ended, and Tails handed Siris the floppy. Siris was so shocked by this revelation that it took him a couple of seconds to grab the floppy and put it in his inventory. An awkward silence filled the booth. Amy turned to Tails.

"You didn't tell me about the audio file, Tails."

"I thought it would be best if we all heard it together, but given the circumstances, I think it would be best if just the three of us heard it… uh, plus Sylvie."

Siris had his eyes closed and his head down.

"Siris?"

He didn't respond to Amy.

"Siris?" she asked again.

Siris looked up and opened his eyes.

"No," he said sternly.

Everyone was confused.

"Uh… no what?" asked Tails.

"No, I won't join you on your adventure."

"We didn't-"

"But you were going to, right?" Siris asked Tails.

"I think the audio clip says it all," he remarked.

"… I'm sorry, but I must refuse."

"Why?" asked Amy.

Siris glanced up at Amy.

"Why? Because I have secrets. Dangerous secrets. And a dark past. Mix that together with just some of the abilities you've seen me possess and a lack of trust and… Look, it's just a bad idea. You guys already have a good team. I would just… mess things up. And after what James told you, I don't want to have people doubting me."

Amy's eyes widened.

"How did you know it was James?"

"Pfft. Who else? No one else knows."

Tails sighed, and Amy hung her head.

"Even still," Siris continued, "I can't just leave the clinic closed for a few weeks at a time, my patients need me. I'm the only known doctor in this town. A couple of days, maybe three or four at the very most, but not for extended periods of time."

"Even if the world was at stake?" Tails pointed out.

Siris sighed.

"Alright. Fine, let's make a deal. You guys prove that this isn't some Eggman scheme, then, and only then, will I consider joining. But, you will not tell any of this to anyone. Not Sonic, not Mighty, Ray, Knuckles, no one. You can tell them about the audio file, but tell them that it self-destructed after you both heard it."

Tails and Amy looked uncomfortable.

"We don't like lying to Sonic," Amy explained.

"Then don't lie. Tell him I have the audio file. I'll do the rest."

Amy turned to Tails.

"Think we can trust him?" she asked.

"I don't know, Amy," he replied, "But I think we can give him a chance."

He then turned to Siris.

"Alright, you've got a deal," said Tails.

"Good."

Siris paused.

"And… if I join… then I'll try my best to open up."

"It's okay, Siris," said Amy, "And I'm sorry for being suspicious."

"Don't be," Siris replied, "Because there are things that even I haven't forgiven myself for… And I don't think-"

"What's going on here, fellas?"

Siris, Tails, Amy, and Sylvie all turned to the table nearby and saw Sonic sitting there with a smirk on his face.

"When did you get here?" Tails asked.

"About ten seconds ago."

Amy's eyes widened.

"Sonic… don't tell me that you…"

"Yup. Ran all the way here," he replied, before having an intrigued look on his face and tapped his chin, "Well, technically I ran from the hotel, made a few laps around the town, another couple laps in the forest, dove off a cliff, and managed to find you guys in just 15 minutes."

Tails and Amy dropped their heads into their hands, expecting Siris to argue. To their surprise, they heard him chuckling.

"Well, well, well. I see that you've fully recovered. Guess I was wrong. And I'm rarely wrong about one's health," said Siris.

"Hey, what can I say?" Sonic shrugged, "I die hard."

Siris gave Sonic a look.

"Isn't that what you told Shadow during the ARK incident?" he asked.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy were surprised. No one else knew about that but the team.

"Surprised? Don't be. I used to be a G.U.N. agent," Siris explained.

The three were even more surprised.

" _You_ were an agent for G.U.N.?" Sonic asked.

"Yup. Until a couple of years ago," Siris replied, "But, there's no time for that now. Tails!"

The fox jumped a bit.

"Uh, yeah?"

"We were just discussing an audio clip that Tails found on the floppy. Tell Sonic what it said."

Tails and Amy were, you guessed it, surprised once more. I wonder how many surprises one can take in such a short period of time.

"Uh… you sure?"

"Of course, I'm sure!"

Siris leaned over so he could whisper to Tails and Amy.

"Look, if I want you guys to trust me, I might as well learn to trust you as well," Siris quickly explained, "I won't discuss my time with G.U.N. now, but some time in the near future, I will. Promise."

"What about the floppy?" Tails asked, "You have it."

At that instant time slowed down around Siris. Within milliseconds, he slipped the floppy into Tails' hand under the table. Once it was out of his hand, time went back to normal.

"Do I?"

"Uh…"

"Audio only. I'll show him the photos when the time is right. And now isn't the time."

Siris sat back down.

"Something up?" asked Sonic as he approached the table.

"Uh, nothing, Sonic," Amy said nonchalantly, which shockingly convinced her boyfriend.

"Yeah, we were just discussing what Siris should do after we listened to the audio on this floppy," Tails explained.

Sonic shrugged.

"Well, what did it say?" he asked.

"Tails," Siris ordered, "play it."

Sonic listened to the recording. He just stood there and listened silently until the recording ended.

"So… it was you that Eggman wanted me to find," he said.

Siris shrugged.

"What a world," Sonic sighed, "So, you'll be joining us then?"

Siris smiled sadly.

"Uhhh… not yet. I need some time to get my patients taken care of before I join on this little world-saving mission," Siris explained.

"What? Really? With the world at stake?" the blue hedgehog asked with a raised brow.

Siris sighed.

"Look, I'm gonna be honest with you guys, I'm going through some rough patches in my life right now and I need just a bit of time to… prepare."

Sonic stared at Siris.

"Well… if you say so," he said, "So… I'm good to go?"

Siris sighed.

"Yeah, Sonic. You're good to run to your heart's content."

"Sweet! I'll grab Mighty and Ray and we'll be waiting by the Tornado, Tails!"

"Uh… sure, Sonic."

"Great!"

Sonic was just about to sprint outside when he realized something.

"Uh… Tails? Where did you land the plane?" Sonic asked with a guilty smile.

"I landed it next to Siris' clinic again. There's really not many options to choose from around town, ya know."

Sonic waved his finger, giving his best friend the "now I know" gesture. He then noticed the shorter hedgehog that he didn't recognize. Siris caught on fast.

"Ah, right. You two haven't been introduced. Sonic, this is Sylvie; Sylvie, this is Sonic the Hedgehog," he said.

"Hey," Sonic waved.

"H-hello," Sylvie said nervously.

"Well, I guess we should get-"

"Hold on, Sonic," Tails called out, "There's still one more thing I want to discuss and you should be here for this."

Sonic turned to Tails.

"Alright."

He sat down next to Tails.

"What's up?"

Tails handed Siris the floppy disk and inserted the second one he had that no one looked at yet.

"I had a quick peak at the data on this one before me and Amy came here. There's some useful stuff on here that I'll comb through later, but there's one thing I wanted to ask you and Siris before we prepare to search for the other Chaos Emeralds."

"Wait a minute, Tails."

"What is it, Sonic?"

"I thought you said you found only one floppy disk. How did you end up with two?"

Siris looked suspiciously at the Miles Electric.

"I'll explain in a second. You guys need to see this first."

Tails laid the device on the table and opened a couple of files.

"Wow…" said Amy.

"Didn't see that coming," Sonic added.

"Not… good," Siris finished.

Sylvie was confused.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

The files were blueprints of robots that Eggman had designed years ago, specifically the ones that looked like robotic replicas of Sonic: Silver Sonic, Metal Sonic, and Mecha Sonic. There also appeared to be a dark looking Mobian, but the picture quality was so poor, no one could tell.

"And that's not all," said Tails as he opened a couple of more files.

"Oh, boy…" Sonic sighed.

It was information on different power sources: Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald, Sol Emeralds, Chaos drives, Wisps, even sources that generate power using souls.

" _Souls?"_ Siris pondered.

Tails saw what made Siris curious.

"Yeah, that one is a strange one. At first, I thought it was referring to when Eggman used to power his creations by using animals, like Flickies. But reading the file… it just doesn't make much sense. It just seems to be ramblings about how a person's soul could power machines."

Sylvie looked confused.

"A soul… powering a machine?" she asked.

Siris turned to her and shrugged.

"I see why we should worry, Tails. But that still doesn't answer my question before," said Sonic.

"Well, two things. First, look at the date when this file was last updated."

Silence.

"Two years ago?" Amy asked.

"Yeah."

"That's impossible," Sonic argued, "How can that be when the base has been abandoned for over 10 years?"

Tails shook his head.

"I have no idea. But here's the scary part. Before we got back from the base, I made a copy of the floppy disk. This one is the original, since you can clearly see the name written on it," he explained, "For safety, I put the original away and fell asleep with the copy in my hand. This morning, I woke up and found out that someone had stolen the copy and left the one Siris has."

Siris took a moment to process this.

"Wait, you mean you didn't find it at the base?" he asked.

"No. Someone must have snuck in last night and swapped the drives."

"Can I see the floppy for a second?" Siris asked.

Tails nodded and ejected the floppy into Siris' hands. Siris examined the disk.

"The name on it is 'NV-001'. Does that mean anything to you?" Tails asked.

"Hmm… nothing really comes to mind. Back when I was…"

Siris quickly stopped talking. He didn't want Sylvie to know about his past as a slave.

"… fighting against Julien, I had read through many plans that Julian had made. I faintly recall similar… No, I'm getting mixed up with the E-100 series. Sorry, I don't know anything."

Sonic sighed.

"Well, if it were that easy, there'd be no need for an adventure," he joked.

"GUYS!"

Everyone turned to see Mighty and Ray rushing over.

"You've gotta hear this!" Mighty exclaimed as he tried to catch his breath.

"Whoa, whoa, slow down, guys!" Sonic told them.

"How ironic," Siris teased, making Tails and Amy laugh.

From his right, Siris heard a soft giggle. He turned and saw Sylvie trying to keep an emotionless face.

" _Did I just make her laugh?"_

Might shook his head and raised his communicator.

"Tell them, Silver."

"Silver?!" Sonic, Tails, and Amy exclaimed.

" _ **Hey, guys. Listen, I have something really important to ask you."**_

Sonic's communicator started to ring.

"Uh, one second, Silver," Sonic told him as he answered his communicator, "Hello?"

" _ **Sonic, it's Rouge."**_

"Rouge!?" everyone but Sylvie exclaimed.

Immediately, everyone turned to Siris.

"Wait, you know Rouge?!" Sonic shouted.

Awkward silence...

"Aaahhh, we'll talk about another time. Let's figure out what's going on."

Sonic put his hands up and took a step back.

"Okay, hold on. One thing at a time. Silver, you first."

" _ **Blaze is back and she needs help looking for the four Sol Emeralds that were stolen from her."**_

Siris recognized that name.

"Blaze…" he said, "Isn't that the princess from another dimension who has pyrokinesis and the short, hot-headed temper?"

" _ **Excuse me, WHAT!?"**_

"Yeah, sounds about right," said Siris as Silver tried to calm Blaze down.

Sonic rolled his eyes.

"Alright, Silver? Blaze? Can you explain what happened?" he asked.

 _One explanation later…_

" _ **So, now we're wondering if you could help us,"**_ Silver asked.

Everyone was rubbing their heads.

"Silver… you're gonna want to hear this," said Tails.

 _Another explanation later…_

"So… could you help us find the Chaos Emeralds?" Sonic asked.

"… _**heh. Heh heh, are you serious?"**_ Silver asked.

"… So, is that a 'yes'?" Sonic asked.

" _ **Might as well, Blaze. Since we're searching for the Sol Emeralds, we might as well keep an eye on the Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald shards."**_

"… _***Sigh* Alright, Sonic. We'll help. But you've got to help us, too."**_

"Fair enough. Sure," said Sonic.

Everyone else nodded in agreement, except for Sylvie, who was just completely lost about what was going on.

" _ **Hey, guys,"**_ said Rouge, _**"I've got a favor to ask as well."**_

"This is the day that never ends…" Siris began singing, "It just goes on and on my friends."

"What do you need, Rouge?" Sonic asked.

" _ **Long story short, the President wants G.U.N. to acquire all the Chaos Emeralds for the safety of the planet. Since you boys are already on the case, you should know that Shadow had already had one for a while and I already called the Chaotix to search for the Chaos Emeralds. Should make your job a bit easier."**_

"Well, that's a shocker. And I take it G.U.N. won't take 'no' for an answer?" Sonic asked.

" _ **They will, at least until this little adventure of yours is finished."**_

"Alright, Rouge. You've got a deal," said Sonic.

" _ **Wonderful. Be sure to tell Knuckles as well; I can't seem to get in touch with him."**_

Tails' face went pale.

"Uh oh…" he muttered.

Everyone turned to the fox.

"Something wrong, Tails?"

"Knuckles left his communicator back at the hotel. I was gonna give it to him yesterday back at the clinic, but I completely forgot. There's no way to reach him."

Rouge sighed.

"No worries, Rouge. If anyone sees Knuckles, they'll tell them everything," Sonic pointed out.

"Oh, God and Chaos, please don't let it be me," Siris moaned.

"Same," everyone said simultaneously.

Sonic turned to Mighty and Ray.

"How Silver get your number?"

"Vector," they replied.

"Right… well, I guess we're off for another adventure. Silver, Blaze, Rouge. Keep in touch."

Sonic and Mighty hung up their calls.

"So… what's next?" Siris asked, "Is Chaos going to return? Are the Black Arms gonna return and invade once again? Or, maybe the Time Eater-"

"Shut up, Siris," Sonic smirked, "You sure you don't wanna join us?"

Siris shook his head.

"Not yet. But I get the feeling this is going to be a long adventure. From what I remember, it took you nearly two months just to repair the planet when Dark Gaia was awakened. Who's to say this won't be as long, if not longer?"

 **Let's be serious, when you're playing Sonic Unleashed on the Xbox 360/PS3, the number of times you have to change the time of day just to finish every stage and mission would basically be roughly a month in game… or two.**

"Fair enough."

"So, you will join us later?" Amy asked.

Siris nodded.

"Just give me a couple of weeks. After that, I think I'll be ready. If not… well, good luck to you guys then."

Sonic got up and held out his hand.

"Cool meeting you again after all these years," he smirked.

"Likewise, Sonic," Siris replied, shaking his hand.

Sonic nodded and they stopped shaking hands.

"Come on, guys. Let's get going."

"Wait… we're leaving? Now?" Amy asked.

"Yup. The sooner we find those Emeralds the better," said Sonic.

"And the less powerful the Lord will become," said Siris.

Everyone turned to him.

"What do you mean?" Tails asked.

"We have to assume the worst. If what Blaze says is correct, then the Lord already has four Sol Emeralds and who knows how many Master Emerald shards. And mind you, Knuckles and Mighty had their butts handed to them, each by a robot with just a single Master Emerald shard."

Realization dawned on everyone.

"I don't even want to know what a robot could do with just four Sol Emeralds," Siris added.

"Well, then we better get started! And I have an idea on where to start," Sonic announced.

"You do?" said Mighty, "Where?"

Sonic looked down at his bracelet.

"The first place we restored the planet."

Ray and Mighty looked at each other.

"Huh?"

Sonic shook his head.

"I'll explain later. Come on guys, let's get to the Tornado!"

He turned to Siris.

"Later, Siris. Sylvie."

"See ya," said Siris as Sylvie waved.

The gang said their goodbyes to Siris and Sylvie, who was also introduced to Mighty and Ray, and left to begin a new adventure.

"Well… I guess we should head back home, right, Sylvie?"

"Yes. Uh… Siris?"

"Yeah? I'm… confused. What's going on? Is the world in danger again?"

Siris sighed and patted her on the head.

" _Well, at least it's not Knuckles…"_

"I'll explain everything later. Right now, we need to get home, it's already…" Siris said as he checked the time, "Wow, it's already 8:30?!"

"Don't you have to open up at nine?"

"Yeah, I do."

Siris paused.

"Sylvie, could you hold on for a second? I need to use the restroom real quick."

Sylvie nodded and Siris left for the bathroom.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _The Lord's Secret Base_

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) **(Loop it multiple times)**

 ***BEEP* *BEEP* *BEEP***

 ***BEEP BEEP***

"Go ahead, sleeper. Your voice modifier is active."

" _ **The blue hedgehog and his friends just left the café. Apparently, your so-called 'infiltrator' grabbed a copy; they still have the original."**_

"This is not a major concern. The copy is just a bump in the road. And now that everyone is working together, it will make if much easier for you to get closer to them."

" _ **I suppose it does. But what should we do about the echidna? He doesn't know anything and he's now closing in on a possible Emerald location."**_

"Hmm… how long before he reaches the location?"

" _ **Three days, maximum."**_

"Plenty of time… I think I have the perfect creation to deal with him. Once he's disposed of, his disappearance will distract the others and give us extra time. Not that we would need it."

" _ **What about the others?"**_

"Continue as planned. Let them figure out who the traitor is."

" _ **And the girl?"**_

"What of her?"

" _ **She's just a slave. I don't think I can-"**_

"Sleeper, what you do with the girl is not my concern. Do as you wish with her."

" _ **Understood."**_

"Good. And prepare for Halloween."

" _ **Sir?"**_

"I have a special… treat for Blue Moon Village."

" _ **Why would you waste resources here?"**_

"Why are you contacting me from a bathroom?"

"… _**Your sense of humor never ceases to amaze me. But why waste resources that could be used to bring down Sonic instead?"**_

"Theatrics. A massacre in a small town is a great way to lower a hero's morale."

" _ **Ah… and Halloween is making it over-the-top. Perhaps so much so that it would get the attention of the world?"**_

"If all goes to plan, yes."

" _ **I see. And this treat wouldn't happen to be the…"**_

"Yes. Yes, it is, indeed. Now, keep a close eye on those heroes. We wouldn't want them to think they have the upper hand now, would we?"

" _ **No, we wouldn't. I've already a plan in motion. Don't you worry, my Lord."**_

"Excellent. I look forward to your next report."

 ***BEEP***

The Lord sighed.

"Enjoy yourself while you can, Sonic. Because before you know it... your spirit will be broken and you will watch as I change the world as I see fit."

The room began to fill with maniacal laughter. The only thing that could be seen in the darkness where the Lord sat were two red robot eyes.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 **A/N:**

 **Wasn't expecting the chapter to end like this. I wanted to keep going, but this is already getting long. Presentation-wise, the first part of the next chapter would have been perfect to end here. Oh, well. Hopefully it won't take me as long to write the next chapter. Yeah, as of posting, I haven't even started it yet. But, don't worry. My cough is practically gone… okay, it's not. But, it's much better than before. So. don't worry, I'll make sure the quality is much better next time!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	5. Chapter 5: A New Adventure Begins

**Me: Finally, we get to the adventure!**

 **Sonic: About time, too! All we've gotten so far is nothing but four chapters of setup and only a couple of battles.**

 **Me: In due time, my dear hedgehog friend. Anyways, no need for a long one, let's jump right into it! Enjoy!**

 **Sonic: Really? So, you won't be avoiding this and playing "Nier: Automata BECOME AS GODS Edition"?**

 **Me: … Well, I never said that. I mean, I did get endings A through E with all but one side mission completed. Still have to get the last eight achievements. But enough of that, time to get back to the story!**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **I should have mentioned this sooner, but if you are listening to the songs provided on a desktop, you do know how to loop the video, right? Right click on the player and you'll see it. If you're on a Mac… just look up how to do it.**

 **Also, in case you think otherwise, Microsoft Word SUCKS at catching grammatical errors, specifically incorrect words being used. Do me a favor, because I'm so OCD when it comes to writing, if there's a spelling error or a word missing or anything like that, please let me know via PM. Spell Check can only to so much, both on Word and FFN. I say this because it will make the process of me writing another chapter quicker without the need to occasionally go back and find an error in a previous chapter on FFN. I don't have an editor or someone who has the time to proofread this stuff after I have done so.**

 **Bonus: Can you guess one of the two characters revealed in this chapter? Winner gets a cookie!**

* * *

Chapter 5: A New Adventure Begins

 _Outside of Siris' House_

 **[ Darksiders 2 OST – The Makers Theme ]** (Uploaded by overlord7777) (0:00) (Loop)

"Everything ready, Tails?"

Tails was getting the Tornado 2 prepped for launch. No surprise, his best friend was getting impatient. He sighed and turned towards him.

"Almost done, Sonic. Just making the last few adjustments to the system and we'll be all set!"

"You said that-"

"30 seconds ago, Sonic. Don't say it was longer."

"Guys, look! I see Siris and Sylvie!" Amy exclaimed.

Everyone turned to the direction Amy was pointing as the two hedgehogs arrived home.

"Though you guys would have left by now," said Siris.

"Same," said Sonic, "but it seems Tails got distracted. He thinks every single little adjustment to his devices will make a huge difference."

"Oh? So, I shouldn't modify my Miles Electric to detect the Sol Emeralds and make sure you're keeping your promise to Blaze?" Tails retorted.

"Aaahhh… okay, fair enough."

Mighty and Ray walked up to Siris.

"What's up?" Siris asked them.

"Since I've worked with Knuckles in the past, Ray and I decided we should go find him and give him a hand with the Master Emerald," Mighty explained.

"Oh."

Siris' ears lowered a bit. It wasn't often he got to see his friends.

"Is something wrong, Siris?" Ray asked.

"Hm? Nah, it's nothing. I was hoping we'd catch up for a while before you two took off. I wasn't aware you were leaving so soon."

Mighty smiled and placed a hand on Siris' shoulder.

"Don't worry, Siris. There will plenty of time in the future. Right now, the world is in danger. The best thing we can do is make sure we get the Emeralds first, and fast."

Siris nodded.

"Any idea where he could be, though?" he asked.

"We don't, but Vector has an idea where," Ray answered.

"I take it you two will meet up with the other Chaotix and join Knuckles?"

Mighty and Ray nodded.

"Figures. So, where are you two headed?"

"Adabat," they replied.

"Adabat?"

"Yeah. Vector said he got a tip from someone that saw Knuckles heading in that general direction," Mighty explained.

"Why would he care about Knuckles' location?" Siris asked.

Everyone, except Sylvie, turned to look at him, giving him the "Are you serious?" look.

"The guy giving the tip, not Vector," Siris clarified, "What do you think I am, stupid? With the possible threat looming in the future?"

"He didn't," Ray explained, "When Vector asked about Master Emerald shards, the guy mentioned Knuckles to him."

"Aaahhh… I get it now," said Siris, "So, Adabat then, huh?"

"Yup!" Mighty said ecstatically.

Siris noticed Ray wasn't looking so thrilled.

"He's just worried," said Amy, startling Mighty and Ray since she approached silently behind them.

Siris was a bit surprised himself.

"How-"

"I could tell by the look in your eyes," Amy explained to Siris, "Ray told us on the way here that there were reports of volcanic activity miles away from Adabat."

"Oh, yeah. I read something about that recently," said Siris, "But why worry? The only thing happening is a bunch of steam forming from the ocean floor and rising to the surface. It happens every 10 to 15 years, Ray."

Ray wasn't really convinced.

"It's just… what if this time a huge volcanic eruption occurs?"

Siris could help but laugh a little.

"A volcanic eruption? Ray, Adabat hasn't had anything of that magnitude in hundreds, if not a couple thousand years."

"Yeah, that's what I said," Tails noted.

"But this activity only started again a few days ago. What if it's connected to that 'lord' guy?"

Everyone sighed loudly, except Ray and Sylvie.

"You really are superstitious, aren't ya?" Mighty asked.

Ray smiled nervously and shrugged. The conversation ended as the Tornado 2 roared to life. Everyone looked at each other, knowing it was time to part ways.

"So, guess this is it, huh?" Siris asked as Sonic and Tails walked up.

"Yeah. Guess it is; the start of a new adventure," Sonic replied.

Mighty got Siris' attention and held out his hand.

"See ya around?" asked the armadillo.

Siris smiled and shook his hand.

"You better count on it," he said.

Siris then shook Ray's hand.

"Come on, Ray. We better get going. Vector and the others will be meeting us at Spagonia soon," Mighty explained, "And the sooner we catch up to Knuckles, the sooner we can give him his communicator back."

Ray turned to his partner and nodded.

"Right."

The two then turned back to their friends and said their farewells. Everyone waved to them as they ran off towards the forest.

"Man," Sonic sighed, "wish they could have come with us."

Amy agreed.

"I feel the same," said Tails, "But we don't know what we're up against. If that fight against those SWAT-bots told me anything, it's that we're gonna need all the help we can get."

"He's right, Sonic."

He looked at Siris.

"While that fight was just an exercise for me, even if they had Master Emerald shards, we should assume the worst," Siris explained, "If they have even one Chaos or Sol Emerald, it could tip the scale in their favor in battle."

Sonic thought about it for a moment and nodded in agreement.

"Anyways, you guys should also get going. Mighty's right, we can't afford to waste time. Where are you guys headed?"

"We haven't really decided on that yet," said Tails, "We're gonna coordinate with everyone else so we can search as much area as possible."

"I thought you guys were going to Mazuri," Siris asked.

Sonic sighed.

"It was my original plan for us," he explained, "but then I decided it might not be a good idea."

Siris was about to ask for clarification, but someone else asked something.

"Where's everyone now?" asked Amy.

"Shadow, Rouge, and Omega are currently at G.U.N. Headquarters, questioning Eggman Nega. Silver and Blaze already searched Emerald Coast and Station Square. And you already-"

"Wait!" Amy interrupted Tails, "Did they go to Twinkle Park?"

At first, Sonic and Tails were confused, but it took them a second to follow what Amy was getting at.

"Ah, I see what you're asking," Sonic smirked.

"Unfortunately, no," Tails replied, trying not to laugh.

"What a shame," Siris sighed.

Immediately, Sonic, Tails, and Amy turned to Siris. Before any of them could say anything, Siris answered their question.

"I'm guessing they like each other based on how you guys are acting just now."

"… Yeah, pretty much," said Amy.

"But back to where you guys should go, why not just go to the former locations of the Temples of Gaia? It sounds like what Sonic had initially planned earlier," Siris suggested, "I mean, Sonic found one here, near Spagonia. And if Shadow found his near another one, wouldn't it be smart to search there first? And before you guys ask, I studied at Spagonia University and worked part-time for Professor Pickle."

Sonic opened his mouth to say something.

"Don't ask. Long story. Some other time."

"Uh… actually it was something else," said Sonic.

"Oh. What is it?"

"Why are you really not coming with us right now?"

Tails and Amy froze.

"I mean… no offense, but personal issues and dealing with patients beforehand with the world at stake doesn't sound right."

Siris nodded a couple of times before smiling.

"Alright. That was a half-truth. The other reason is that I'm rusty."

"Rusty?"

"I haven't used any of my abilities in over two years. As strange as that might sound, I need time to dust off the cobwebs and hone my skills as fast as possible. It should only take a couple of weeks, give or take a couple of days."

Sonic kept a straight face, but he had a feeling that Siris was still not telling them something. If only he knew Tails and Amy partially knew more than him.

"So…" said Tails, "you'll be ready by Halloween?"

"…Huh. Forgot about that. I guess so," said Siris.

"Not a fan of Halloween, Siris?" asked Amy.

"My God, you kidding?" Siris asked with a look of disbelief, "I love Halloween. I mean, who doesn't?"

"Good point," Tails replied as he started up the Tornado.

The roar of the engine perked Sonic up as he and Amy walked over to the plane. Sonic helped Amy into the Tornado before turning to Siris with a concerned look on his face.

"Something wrong?" Siris asked him.

"Yeah. I've been thinking… why SWAT-bots?"

Tails and Amy looked at Siris as well, who just shrugged.

"No clue. It does seem strange though," he replied.

"How so?" Tails asked.

Sonic turned back to him.

"Think about it, Tails. An abandoned base? Us finding Siris? SWAT-bots? What do they all have in common?" Sonic asked.

Tails' eyes began to widen.

"You don't think Julian is still…"

"Hell, no, Tails!" Siris exclaimed.

Everyone turned to him.

"Like I said, I killed him myself. Trapped him inside his escape pod and prevented it from leaving as the whole base blew up."

"He's right, Tails," Sonic added, "Sally and I both saw the footage from Nicole. Julian is dead."

Tails calmed down.

"But, if it's not Julian, then why SWAT-bots? We haven't seen a single one in over 10 years," Tails pointed out.

"I think I can answer that," Siris replied, "I've seen the blueprints for the SWAT-bot design and built some parts for them back then. Compared to Eggman's recent designs, his are inferior to the SWAT-bot design."

"And if this… are we really gonna call him 'lord'?" Sonic asked.

Everyone shrugged.

"Well, anyways, this 'lord' guy has clearly been searching through Julian's old bases. Wouldn't surprise me if he was trying to use every angle to his advantage."

Siris began to get nervous.

"That's a scary theory, Sonic. If this guy got his hands on the Doomsday Project plans and altered them… the consequences would be astronomical."

"Yeah. You're right. Tails, Amy; we should get a move on."

Tails nodded as Amy got herself buckled in the passenger seat.

"Hey, Sonic?"

The blue hedgehog turned back to the darker one.

"When you first saw me here, you didn't recognize me. I didn't gain any color powers until a few years ago, long since Julian's death. How did you know I was 'Wisps' after I destroyed those SWAT-bots?"

"Your grapples," Sonic smirked, "There's only one other person I know who has ever used one. The only one who is a hedgehog would be you."

Siris stared at him suspiciously.

"But you've never seen me fight before, even back at Doomsday."

"Right. After Doomsday, I saw some footage of you taking out all those SWAT-bots before saving my quills."

"Really? Huh. Wasn't aware there was footage of that."

"Yeah. Gotta say, you had moves, even back then."

"Thanks… you guys should get going. Stay in touch!"

"No problem," said Sonic.

"Yeah, right, mister!" Amy yelled, "You didn't stay in touch with any of us these past months!"

Sonic chuckled nervously as a sweat drop appeared on his temple.

"Well…" he began saying, "now I have you two to make sure I keep that promise now!"

Tails and Amy sighed so loudly that it made the Tornado's engine sound like a whisper in comparison. Siris couldn't help but laugh a little.

"You know, now that I think about it," said Tails, "Professor Pickle might have some useful information as well. I'm sure he'd be pleased to see us again."

Sonic turned to Tails, giving him a thumbs up.

"Good idea, Tails! Spagonia is only a short jog away, so it'd be no trouble at all."

"Well, no point in wasting more time. We should get going and talk to Professor Pickle," said Amy.

Tails began a final system check as Sonic waited impatiently, wanting to do what he does best.

"Take care of that Chaos Emerald, Sonic!" Siris warned him, "If this threat is half as bad as it sounds, we can't afford to lose anything to that 'lord'."

Sonic shook Siris' hand and waved to Sylvie before sprinting into the distance, leaving behind a trail of dust and a sonic boom.

"Hey!" Tails called out, "Wait for us, Sonic!"

The Tornado 2 began to rise off the ground.

"Tails, Amy!" Siris called out over the engine, getting their direction, "Please, don't tell Sonic anything yet. I promise to explain everything in due time!"

The two gave Siris a nod before waving goodbye to him and Sylvie. Sylvie gave a shy wave back as Tails piloted the plane the direction Sonic was running and blasted off after him. Siris and Sylvie stood there staring until the plane was no longer in sight.

"Be safe…" Sylvie said softly.

Siris patted her on the head.

"Don't worry, Sylvie. I'm sure they'll be just fine."

She turned to face him.

"I hope so."

Siris smiled.

"Why don't we go inside; I have to open the clinic in a couple of minutes."

Sylvie nodded.

"Okay."

As they entered Siris' home, Siris was concerned.

" _How am I going to explain this to Sylvie?"_ he thought, _"She shouldn't even be here. She deserves a better place to live. Some place… safe."_

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _The Evil Lord's Base… I really need to come up with a good name for this guy before he physically reveals himself to our heroes…_

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) **(Loop it multiple times)**

The Lord patiently sat upon his thrown, waiting for his subordinate to arrive from a retrofit. His recent communication with one of his sleeper agents made him very pleased. Although his plan has had a couple of fumbles, they mattered little as the plan was a self-preserved plan, one that can easily be able be completed, even with some issues arising. The Lord turned his attention to the cloaked figure that had just arrived in the room.

"Ah, excellent timing. I see your repairs have gone well. Very good."

The figure silently stood before its master.

"I have a new mission for you," the Lord told them in a sinister tone, "I want you to follow Knuckles and his little friends to Adabat. Intel says that a Chaos Emerald and a Master Emerald shard is in the region. An ambush is preparing to attack within a couple of days."

The figure slightly glared at his master.

"Unlike before, you may do as you wish with the Mobians, I care not for their well-being. Just be sure to bring me that Chaos Emerald and shard."

The Lord leaned forward.

"Do I make myself clear?"

The figure's head slightly rose, revealing two glowing red eyes, before nodding in response.

"Good," the villain said softly, "And be sure to bring the Demon with you."

The figure nodded again before slowly rising from the ground and dashing off to begin their mission.

"Time to divide and conquer," the lord chuckled to himself as his laughter got louder and louder.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Spagonia University_

 **[ Spagonia Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Aaahhhh…" Tails sighed, "It's nice to be back here again."

The Tornado 2 slowly descended and landed a few feet away from the fountain in the University courtyard. Sonic was waiting for Tails and Amy by the entrance. He didn't want to go see Professor Pickle alone. Not only because he didn't want to be rude and see him before Tails and Amy, but also for the sake of him not losing his sanity of Pickle's constant banter of how a cucumber sandwich should be properly made. Tails and Amy walked up to Sonic.

"Ready to see him?" Amy asked.

Sonic nodded and the three entered the building. Luckily, the professor's office was in the same room as it was a few years ago when they were last there. Unluckily, there was no sign of Pickle.

"Huh," said Tails, "I guess he's out."

"I wonder where he is," said Amy.

As the three made their way back to the entrance and wait for Professor Pickle's return, they ran into his assistant.

"Oh, hey, it's you guys!" he exclaimed, "It's nice to see you again."

Tails shook his hand.

"Likewise. You wouldn't happen to know where Professor Pickle is, would you?" Tails asked.

"Professor Pickle?" the assistant asked, "Oh, he's not in Spagonia right now. He's currently on sabbatical."

"Really?" asked Tails.

It was quite a surprise to him. For all the time he had known the professor, he didn't seem like the kind of guy who would easily just decide to take a break from his research projects.

"I'm afraid so," the assistance replied, "But, if you still want to see him, I think he's currently in Apotos."

"Thanks for the tip," said Sonic, "Come on, guys. Next stop, Apotos!"

The three said their farewells to the assistant and left for Apotos.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ]** (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00) **(Loop if necessary)**

Sylvie was cleaning the bookshelves while Siris was busy meeting with patients in his clinic. Usually when she worked on doing chores, she would refrain from distracting herself from her labors, avoiding long periods of thinking or fidgeting with objects that ever caught her eye. It was a force of habit she developed back when she was still living under the ownership of Charles Hemberg. But after living in Siris' home for a few days, she still felt that she was nothing more than a slave. And yet, that didn't stop her from thinking about earlier that day.

" _There are things that have happened that I don't want to discuss."_

Sylvie couldn't help but think about what Siris had said earlier.

" _I have secrets. Dangerous secrets. And a dark past."_

Sylvie's hand moved faster and faster as she gripped the cleaning cloth tighter.

" _I'm going through some rough patches in my life right now."_

"Like you've gone through the same thing I did…" Sylvie muttered almost silently to herself, tightly closing her eyes.

" _I'll explain everything later."_

"Sylvie?"

Her eyes shot open as she turned her head. She saw Siris standing a couple of feet away, looking at her with a concerned expression on his face. Neither said a word for a few moments.

"I think that portion of the shelf is clean now," Siris pointed out.

"Huh?"

Sylvie looked over to where she was cleaning and saw that had been wiping the same spot for a while. Her hand came to a stop and she released her grip on the rag. She began rubbing the palm of the hand she had used. Siris approached her.

"Is your hand okay?"

"…It's f-fine, Master…"

Siris ignored how he was addressed; he was more concerned about her hand. When he first entered the room, Sylvie was unaware of his presence. Though it appeared that she was just cleaning, Siris felt a tension in the vicinity, coming from Sylvie. He silently watched her work for a minute. As her arm moved with vigor, Sylvie would occasionally jerk her hand away from the area she was cleaning and rub it; Siris decided then it was time to get her attention.

"Sylvie, can I see your hand?"

She looked back at Siris. He could see that she was scared.

" _Guess I should start explaining to her now then."_

"Please?" he asked.

Sylvie nervously held out her right hand. Siris gently turned it over so her palm was facing up. He carefully began to remove her glove. He hadn't even moved it an inch before she involuntarily flinched. Being as careful as possible, Siris removed her glove.

"Sylvie… you have blisters," he stated caringly.

Sylvie had two blisters on her palm, one the size of a bottle cap, the other about half that size.

"I'm okay, I can still work," Sylvie objects nervously.

Siris sighed.

"I'm sure you can, but these look rather irritating, if not painful, Sylvie," he said calmly, "Sit down at the table. I'll go get some supplies from the clinic."

Siris walked back into his clinic as Sylvie nervously sat down at the dinner table.

" _Is Master going to… hurt me?"_

A tear began to form in her eye.

" _Was it all a lie? Is Master truly a bad person?"_

Siris came back with some items. He placed them on the table and went to the kitchen sink. Sylvie heard water running and saw Siris reach over and grab a small bowl and soap. A few seconds later, he came back with a bowl of warm, soapy water and a dry hand towel. He placed the bowl in front of Sylvie.

"Can you soak your hand in the water, please?" he asked her.

"If that is your wish, Master…" she answered softly as she did as she was asked.

Siris was too preoccupied rubbing alcohol on a needle to notice Sylvie's expression. He then grabbed a piece of gauze and a bottle of iodine.

"Okay, dry your hand now with the towel, gently."

Sylvie removed her hand from the water and dried her hand off as Siris put a small amount of iodine on the gauze.

"Can I have your hand?"

Sylvie slowly gave her right hand to Siris. He slowly swabbed the blisters with the iodine for a moment. It was by this point that Siris finally noticed her hand was shaking. He looked up and saw her eyes had tears.

"Does it hurt?"

Sylvie shook her head. Not wanting to make her more uncomfortable than needed, Siris decided not to ask why she was lying.

"Okay. I need to puncture the blisters, so they drain, alright?"

Sylvie slowly nodded.

"I promise, it won't hurt."

Sylvie closed her eyes the moment she saw Siris grab the small needle he had sterilized moments ago. She braced for a sharp stab in her hand, or any place on her body.

" _He's going to do it! He's going to stab me! Why?! Why is he a-"_

"Okay, blisters have been drained."

"Huh?"

Sylvie opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. There was no blood. No pain. Anywhere. Not a scratch, aside from now drained blisters.

" _Master… didn't… hurt me?"_

Sylvie watched as Siris lightly dabbed the towel on her palm, removing the discharge, and putting some kind of gel on the blisters before placing another piece of gauze over the blisters and wrapping her palm with bandage tape.

"Okay, try making a fist."

Sylvie squeezed her hand a couple of times, curling her hand with ease.

"Does it feel stiff?"

"Eh… no, not really."

"Perfect."

Siris smiled and began to put everything away. Sylvie wiped her eyes.

"Uh… could you sit here for a moment, Sylvie? I'll be right back."

Sylvie nodded and Siris went off to return the supplies to his clinic and throw away anything that needed disposal. When he came back inside his home, he saw Sylvie was still sitting at the table, gently rubbing her now gloved hand. She looked back at him as he took a seat across from her. They were silent for a few seconds before Sylvie began to speak.

"I'm-"

"I'm sorry," Siris interrupted.

Sylvie was puzzled.

" _Why is Master apologizing?"_

As though he read her mind, Siris answered.

"I should have told you sooner about what's going on."

Siris bit on his tongue a little with his lips before continuing.

"You're a guest in my home… and I've been unfair with you. I've asked you questions about your past a couple of times, I took you in and didn't even try to show you that you were no longer a slave the moment you came into my care."

Siris bowed his head in shame.

"I didn't even tell you anything about my past. And you, of all people deserve to know something about the person who is taking care of you."

He slowly raised his head.

"I think now would be a good time to answer your questions. I… can't promise you that I am willing to answer all of them, due to reasons. But I will try my best."

As Siris gave Sylvie a small smile, she felt some relief.

"I have some time right now before my next appointment arrives. So, why don't you start asking me questions," he suggested.

"… Are you sure?"

"No. But, I think you deserve it."

Sylvie closed her eyes and began to think about what to ask first. After a minute of thinking, she opened her eyes.

"Were they real?"

Siris was confused.

"Was what real?"

"The photos… on that thing."

" _Oh, boy. Here we go."_

Siris sighed.

"Yes. Every photo was real. And it all really happened. But, don't think those photos tell the whole story."

"I see…"

Sylvie nervously placed her hands on her lap.

"Did you really kill Julian?"

Silence.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"What do you mean by 'why'?"

Silence.

"Why did you kill him?"

"Because he was the worst person to ever walk the Earth."

Silence.

"Shouldn't he had been put on trial? Be sentenced to death by that way?"

Siris sighed.

"Yeah. Yeah, I guess he should have."

"Then why did kill him?"

Siris wiped his mouth.

" _I am not telling her that. I don't want her to think that I want to do onto others what had been done to me."_

"I… don't want to tell you that yet. Sorry."

"… If that is Master's wish."

"Next question?"

Silence.

"How do you know the woman at the clothing store?"

 ***Record scratch* (Stop music for a moment)**

Siris was dumbfounded. He couldn't help but let a chuckle escape from his slight smirk.

"Of all the possible questions you could have asked… you go with how I know a certain human lady."

Sylvie just stared.

"Okay, why are you curious?"

"Well… she seems to really like you. Were you two ever-"

"Nope," Siris said firmly, "gonna end that right there. No. Aside from the obvious reasons why, we never had any kind of relationship in that sense."

"Oh… I just thought…"

Siris leaned over and patted Sylvie on the head.

 **(Continue music)**

"It's fine. I understand why you'd think that. Just for future reference, Aurelia is always like that. She has a very… how should I put it…? teasing attitude. But to answer your previous question, all I will say is that she's a friend of a friend who eventually became a close friend of mine."

"… Who was this friend she was friends with?"

Siris' smile vanished, and he pulled his hand away.

"Umm…. Her friend was…"

Siris couldn't answer and he looked down.

" _Sorry, Sylvie. But that's a topic that won't be happening for a while."_

"Master?"

Siris looked back up.

"Sorry, touchy topic. Can… we go with another topic?"

Sylvie nodded.

"What's a Chaos Emerald?"

" _Oh, this is going to be a long two weeks…"_

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _*** October 15, 2020 ***_

 _A few miles from Apotos_

Amy slowly opened her eyes as the morning sun shined brightly in the sky. She stretched out her arms and yawned. She wasn't quite fully awake as she attempted to go into her bathroom… which was a few thousand miles away in Sunset Heights. Instead of her bedroom floor, her feet landed on nothing and she began to fall out of the Tornado.

" _Wait… I'M IN THE TORNADO!"_ her mind screamed.

But it was too late, most of her weight was already falling off the Tornado; Amy could do nothing but scream as she fell into the ocean below. Suddenly, she felt a hand grab hers and pull her back up.

"Huh?"

Amy looked up and saw Sonic pulling back on board the Tornado.

"Jeez, Amy. It's too early for me to be saving your life," he joked.

Amy rolled her eyes as she got herself back in her seat.

"What, no 'Thank you for saving me' or "You're my hero, Sonic'?" Sonic asked with a playful smile.

"… fine. Thank you, Sonic."

" _Guess she's still mad,"_ Sonic thought.

Yesterday, Sonic and Amy had a… well, not really a fight or an argument… more like Amy blowing off some steam at Sonic for his lack of communication in recent months. Long story short, Sonic said something stupid to Amy but didn't mean it in the way he said it. A threatening Amy with her Piko Piko Hammer in hand was the final straw for Tails, as he told the two that they could walk to Apotos if they didn't stop their behavior. Now, you might be asking why Sonic was on the Tornado at this point. Well, let's just say running a very long distance over water is not something Sonic is a fan of. So, sitting upon the wing of the Tornado, Sonic stopped talking to Amy and Amy, begrudgingly, decided to get some sleep, as by then it was nightfall. And now, morning.

 **Sonic: What are you doing?!**

May God and Chaos have mercy on my soul.

 **Me: You freakin' kidding me right now? Are you really interrupting this story because I'm adding some problems with your relationship with Amy?**

 **Sonic: Yeah, I am! Why are you doing this?! I thought you were a SonAmy fan!**

 **Me: Yes, I am. So?**

 **Sonic: So why are you trying to break us up!?**

 **Me: How about you shut up and let me continue this story, okay?**

 **Sonic: … Fine. But what were we arguing about?**

 **Me: You'll find out in a few minutes. Now shut up. Interrupt me again in the middle of a chapter again, and I will-**

 ***BOOP***

 **Technical Difficulties… Please Standby…**

 ***BOOP***

 **Me: Well, shame I decided to make this whole thing rated T. Now… where was I?**

 **Tails: Shouldn't we call a therapist?**

 **Me: It's too late for him. Now back to the story.**

Anyways…

"Guys, I see it!" Tails exclaimed.

Sonic and Amy turned to the horizon in the direction they were headed. The familiar sight of windmills clearly indicated where they were.

"Apotos, dead ahead!" said Tails.

 _10 minutes later…_

 **[ Apotos Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Tails landed the Tornado near the town entrance. The three got off the plane and headed off to Apotos in search of Professor Pickle. As they walked around, Sonic noticed a few familiar faces back when he was helping Chip find his memory.

"My word, it's Sonic the Hedgehog!"

Speaking of familiar faces, one of them came up to the trio with his signature priest attire.

"It has been quite some time, Sonic," the said the priest.

Sonic shook his hand.

"Gregorios. It's nice to see you again."

"Likewise. And who are you companions?"

Sonic pulled his hand free from the (still) slightly over-appreciative citizen he exorcised from Dark Gaia's influence. Tails came up to Gregorios.

"My name is Tails, a friend of Sonic's."

Then Amy came up.

"And I'm Amy Rose, Sonic's girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" Gregorios asked with some surprise, "I wasn't aware you had a significant other, Sonic."

"Yeah…" Sonic replied, slightly blushing.

"I must say, it is nice to see you finding the time to spend with someone you truly care about," the priest continued, "I hope you two aren't doing anything… that I would frown upon."

"What?!" Amy cried out.

"N-no-no-no-no, don't get the wrong-"

"I understand if you are, Sonic. You are still young, and I know young people tend to be a bit… adventurous, at times."

Sonic turned to Tails and mouthed "save me" to him. Unfortunately, Tails was already enjoying the events unfold before him and just smiled evilly.

 _One uncomfortable explanation later…_

"Oh, please accept my apology, Sonic," the priest begged.

"It's… no problem."

After having to walk away and laugh for what as well have been an eternity, Tails finally put his friends' pain to rest.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said, "but we wanted to ask you something."

Gregorios turned his attention to the kitsune.

"Yes, go ahead, Tails."

"Have you seen a professor around here recently?"

"A professor?" Gregorios asked, in thought, "Ah, you must be looking for Professor Pickle. He's right over there looking out at the horizon."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy all turned to the benched area overlooking the sea and saw the Professor sitting down. After an amusing triple facepalm, they said farewell to Gregorios and walked over to where the Professor was resting.

"Professor Pickle!" Tails called out.

The elderly man turned to the direction from where he was called and saw the trio approaching.

"Why, it's Sonic, Tails, and Amy Rose! How nice to see you all again."

"We could say the same, Professor," said Tails.

"Tell me, what brings you three here. I doubt you simple came here just to mingle with an old man, such as myself."

"Actually, that's exactly why we're here," said Amy.

"Oh? Is that right? Well, go on, no need to keep me waiting."

"Professor, do you have any idea where we could find the Chaos Emeralds?" Tails asked.

"The Chaos Emeralds? For what reason might you need them, if you don't mind me asking?"

For the next hour, the gang discussed what has been happening in the past few days, from Sonic's search for Dr. Eggman, to the messages sent to them; warning of the impending doom. When they mentioned Siris to the Professor nearly choked on his cucumber sandwich, which he had brought along as his lunch.

"So, now we're here, asking you about the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic finished.

"Hm… that does seem troubling. I am afraid to say that I have no clue where you could find the Chaos Emeralds, apart from the obvious location of below the surface of the planet."

"Nothing? Are you sure?" Sonic asked.

"I'm afraid so," Professor Pickle replied, "Was it not Light Gaia would sealed himself along with Dark Gaia within the planet's core, also entrapping the emeralds as well?"

Sonic looked down at his bracelet.

"Yeah, it was," he said.

"Hm…"

"What are you thinking, Professor?" Tails asked.

"Well, I don't know for certain, but from I've heard, it is possible that when Sonic rubbed the gemstone on the bracelet, the earthquakes that resulted afterwards may have been Light Gaia's way of saying he will always be by Sonic's side."

"So, it has no connections with the sudden appearance of the Chaos Emerald Sonic found?" Amy asked.

The professor shook his head.

"I have no possible theory, I'm afraid."

"That's okay, Professor," said Tails, "We knew it would be a long shot anyways."

"That's quite nice of you, Tails," Professor Pickle replied, "I'm honestly surprised how many people are interested in the Chaos Emeralds as of late."

Sonic, Tails, and Amy looked at each other, puzzled.

"What do you mean by that?" Sonic asked.

"About two weeks ago, a Mobian businessman came up to me asking questions about the Chaos Emeralds, much like how you are now."

"Do you know this person's name?" Amy asked.

Professor Pickle rubbed his chin, trying to remember.

"Ah, yes! His name was Hemberg!"

Silence.

" _Hemberg? As in James?!"_ Tails thought.

" _Wait… was James trying to make us focus on Siris and not him?"_ Amy thought.

" _Hemberg… James Hemberg?"_ Sonic thought.

"Does that name sound familiar to any of you?"

"Yeah, it does," Tails answered, "Was it James Hemberg?"

Amy nervously awaited the professor's answer, biting her lower lip.

"No, it was a Charles Hemberg. Quite the strange fellow; he refused to tell me why he needed information on the Chaos Emeralds so soon."

Tails and Amy's hearts sank. They actually felt that Siris was right about James.

"Hm… that is strange," said Sonic, "Maybe Siris knows something. Afterall, I doubt it's a coincidence that there's a Hemberg Estate in Blue Moon Village and an unrelated person by the name 'Hemberg' at the same time."

Tails scratched the back of his head.

"That's not a bad idea, Sonic," he said.

"Yeah. I'll call him now and ask," said Sonic.

He brought up his communicator and called Siris.

" _ **Siris, here."**_

"Hey, Siris, it's Sonic. Do you know anything about a 'Charles Hemberg'?"

" _***Sigh* What did James tell you?"**_

Sonic looked puzzled.

"What? Nothing, we're here in Apotos talking to Professor Pickle. He says that a Charles Hemberg was asking questions about the Chaos Emeralds about two weeks ago."

" _ **You're kidding."**_

Silence.

" _ **Well, this is new to me. But back to your question; yes, I knew Charles. Hell, everyone in Blue Moon Village knew him."**_

"Knew?"

" _ **Yeah, he died in a car accident almost two weeks ago. It was right after he got back from a business meeting, or at least that's what he would call them."**_

"Oh, I'm sor-"

" _ **Don't give your condolences. The only person worst than Charles was Julian. And I'm not exaggerating."**_

Tails and Amy looked at each other.

"You think Siris is telling the truth?" Amy whispered to him.

"Maybe. I mean, if Charles was as bad as Siris is making him out to be, then other people might know about it," Tails whispered back.

Professor Pickle noticed the private conversation.

"He was that bad, huh?"

" _ **Okay, maybe not that bad, but he was scum. Like no regards to anyone's life if they were lower in social status scum."**_

"Ah."

" _ **Listen, if Charles was looking into the find the Chaos Emeralds, I wouldn't go spreading that information around. Especially to James."**_

Sonic scratched his temple.

"Why? What's so bad about James?"

Silence.

" _ **I'd rather not say. It's not that I'm hiding anything, but I don't want to just accuse him of something of this magnitude without proof. For now, just keep this information quiet."**_

"Okay… but why would we want to tell James?"

" _ **You wouldn't. But he came by my clinic earlier, asking me some questions. I could tell he was interested in all of you. He doesn't know anything… I hope. And I think it would be best if we had as few people in on this adventure as possible."**_

"Sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the information. Talk to you soon, Siris."

" _ **Sonic, hold up!"**_

"What's up?"

" _ **I'm not sure if you heard, but did you hear about Adabat?"**_

Sonic turned to the others, who had no clue what Siris was talking about.

"No, we haven't. What happened?"

" _ **Well, it looks like Ray was right. Apparently, there was a huge seismic event dead-center of the volcanic activity a few hours ago. It triggered a chain reaction and now the volcanic eruptions are actual eruptions now. We're talking lava and small islands being formed."**_

"Wow. Are the people of Adabat in danger?"

" _ **Thankfully, no. The event is happening many miles away, the only thing that they'll get is some ash and lots of clouds. Other than that, nothing major."**_

"You think the earthquake is related to the Chaos Emeralds?"

" _ **Dunno. But if Knuckles is already there, then he should be able to find it, assuming there's one to be found."**_

"Alright. Thanks for the heads up, Siris."

" _ **No worries, Sonic. Tell the professor I said 'hi'. Talk to you later."**_

Sonic hung up and turned back to the group.

"Well, that lead was a bust. Dead people can't exactly help us," Sonic remarked.

"It was worth a shot," Tails noted.

Sonic noticed Amy was not looking so happy.

"What's wrong, Amy?"

"Oh, nothing. Just seems that you sure are quick to call some person you've only met once and seeing him again over 10 years later, but you can't be bothered to call any of your close friends, who you've known for years!"

Sonic just stood there and blinked a couple of times.

"Well? Are you going to say something?" Amy asked.

"Well… I've left you messages…"

Please, Heavenly Father, grant Sonic the ability to survive Amy's wrath the day it comes…

"Sonic…" Amy warned through gritted teeth.

"Uh… Tails? A little help?"

"You dug your own grave, Sonic, you get yourself out of it."

"Tails!"

"Sonic…" Amy said as calmly as possible, approaching her boyfriend and resisting the urge to summon her hammer from… wherever the hell she keeps it, "Are you seriously going to tell me that if it weren't for that untrustworthy friend of yours, you wouldn't have even bothered to call us?"

"Well… I… Th-that's not what I… wait a minute, what do you mean 'untrustworthy'?" Sonic asked.

Tails facepalmed.

" _Way to go, Amy."_

Amy's rage instantly changed to fear.

"Uh, nothing. I was referring to… Knuckles!"

 ***Spring SFX***

Tails just shook his head as Sonic raised a brow.

"Knuckles?"

"Well… yeah. I mean, let's be honest here, he isn't exactly the most trustworthy person…"

"How so?"

"Uh… Tails?"

"Save yourself, Amy."

"How is Siris untrustworthy, Amy?"

Amy looked at Sonic, wide-eyed.

"I never said it was Siris."

"But that's who you were referring to."

Amy closed her mouth.

"What's going on, Amy? What's wrong?"

She didn't reply. She was too ashamed of herself. She promised Siris that she would give him a chance and not tell Sonic. So much for the not telling part. Sonic was concerned. He looked around, hoping to find something that would cheer her up. The only things he could see were the sea, windmills in the distance, the ice cream vendor, Gregorios sleeping while standing...

" _That's it!"_ Sonic thought.

Before Amy realized it, Sonic had picked her up bridal style and hurried over to the ice cream food cart, leaving behind a worried Tails and a confused Professor Pickle.

"May I ask what that was all about?" the professor asked.

Tails sighed.

"Trouble in paradise," he muttered.

"That was not what I was referring to, Tails."

"I know; you were referring to Siris, right?"

"Indeed, I was. Why does Amy not trust him?"

Tails was mentally kicking himself. How could he keep his promise to Siris and not lie to an intelligent old man? Well, there was only one thing he could do.

"Give me a second, professor," said Tails as he activated his communicator.

 _Meanwhile, back at what we hope isn't someone's potential gravesite…_

Sonic had rushed over to the ice cream vendor, with Amy in his arms. The ice cream vendor was busy serving a customer, so Amy was thankful that no one saw her being carried bridal style by Sonic. If it was any other day, she would have been thrilled. This was not one of those days. The customer just began to leave as Sonic put Amy down.

"Welcome!" the vendor greeted them, "How can I… We-heh-heh-ell, if it isn't Sonic the Hedgehog! What a lovely surprise! What brings you back to Apotos?"

"Ah, you know, saving the planet from the bad guys. Nothing new."

"And who is the lovely young lady you have with you?"

"Amy Rose," Sonic smirked, "my girlfriend."

Amy stared at Sonic and blushed.

"Ah, I see. True love. What a wonderful feeling."

 **If only he knew their past…**

"Anyways…" Sonic continued, "Since we happened to be coming through Apotos, I figured why not treat her to the best ice cream in the world."

The ice cream vendor laughed.

"Well, my friend, you've come to the right place. I think I know just the treat. Give me one minute."

Sonic crossed his arms and patiently waited. Amy's eyes were still glued to him.

"Alright… almost… aaaand, voila!"

Amy shook her head and looked at the ice cream concoction.

"Whoa, what is that?" she asked in awe.

Sonic turned back to the vendor.

"Explain to her your masterpiece."

"This, my dear, is a Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme!" the vendor presented, "It's a scoop of chocolate and vanilla ice cream on a large sugar cone, with a single chocolate-dipped banana, three chocolate-dipped strawberries, a chocolate-coated pretzel, and a waffle biscuit. And that's not all; it is topped with whipped cream, chocolate chips, and chocolate sprinkles. And as a final touch, two Pockies on top."

 **Anyone else want one now? I'm sure the Sonic Wiki on the ice cream will serve you well.**

"Wow!" Amy exclaimed, "It looks so good~!"

The vendor then handed Sonic and Amy each their own ice cream supreme.

"Thanks!" said Sonic, "How much?"

The vendor shook his head and smiled.

"Normally, 60 rings each. But for you, Sonic, these are on the house!"

"Wow, really!?"

"Oh, of course. It's the least I could do to thank you for saving us all from that dark being."

"Thanks! Come on, Amy. Let's go sit under that tree over there."

Amy was so intrigued by the ice cream that she was in her own little sweet fantasy.

"Hm? Oh, okay. Lead the way."

As the two walked over to the tree in the middle of the town, the vendor watched them and sighed. He then caught a glimpse of the bracelet around Sonic's wrist. He immediately recognized it.

" _I wonder what happened to the little fellow that was with Sonic."_

Sonic and Amy were peacefully enjoying their ice cream while sitting under the tree. They could see Tails and Professor Pickle discussing something, but they were too far away to be heard.

"So…" Sonic began, "how's the ice cream?"

Amy licked her lips before answering.

"This is, hands down, the best ice cream I've ever had."

Sonic smiled.

"Glad you like it."

The two continued eating. As Sonic went for a bite into the waffle biscuit, his eyes glanced over to his bracelet. Memories of Chip began to resurface.

 _*** 2 Years Ago ***_

Sonic and his new acquaintance arrive at the Apotos villa. It had only been a few minutes since Sonic transformed back into his normal self from that strange, beast-like form. As they entered, Sonic was juggling two of the now powerless Chaos Emeralds with one hand.

"What do you figure THAT was all about?" asked Sonic, "The hair, and those arms, and… And look at the Chaos Emeralds."

"So… is this what you usually look like?" his friend asked.

Sonic stopped walking and put the emeralds away.

"Yeah, this is the REAL me! Pretty cool, huh?" he asked, striking a pose.

He immediately realized his new pal was no longer next to him.

"Huh? Where'd you go?"

The strange amnesiac had flown off to a food cart, staring at an ice cream treat as tall as him.

"Ooooh," he moaned, "Mm-mmm."

The ice cream vendor inserted two Pockies into the ice cream and three chocolate-dipped strawberries on top of the whipped cream.

"Looks good, don't it?" he asked.

The flying creature nodded in agreement.

"That there Chocolate Chipped Cream Sundae Supreme is the pride of the city," the vendor explained as he added another two strawberries and a chocolate-dipped banana, "Heh-heh, the whole world can come tumbling down, but they'll still line up for a taste!"

He then sprinkled some chocolate chips and chocolate sprinkles on top.

"Mmm-mmm-mmm-mmm-MMM," the creature moaned.

"HEY!" Sonic shouted to him, "What about your memories?!"

"Aaaahhh… Chocolate chip… sundae… supreeeme!" he moaned again as the vendor finished the desert off with a single waffle biscuit.

The vendor then grabbed the ice cream cone.

"Ha, you said it! Enjoy it, kiddo. Satisfaction guaranteed! If you don't love it, you get your money back!" he claimed, teasing the drooling customer with the ice cream.

"HEY!" Sonic screamed again, getting annoyed.

"Oh," the creature said, "I looooove it!"

It didn't take long before both he and Sonic had a cone each.

"Mmmm-mm!" the creature moaned, "Wow, this chip-whatever stuff is great!"

"If you say so," said Sonic as they began walking, "How about you give me a hand and help look for somebody who knows you, Chip?"

The creature stopped moving for a moment, confused by how he was addressed.

"Chip?"

Sonic stopped walking and turned around.

"Gotta call you something, don't I? Whaddya think?"

Chip beamed.

"Yeah! Chip… Chip! I love it! Yum!"

"Now, what do you say we start asking around and see if anybody here knows you?"

"Okay!"

 _*** Present ***_

Sonic sighed. Amy had just finished the first scoop of ice cream when she noticed Sonic was deep in thought.

"What's the matter, Sonic?"

Sonic turned to her and smiled.

"Just thinking."

"Is it about Chip?"

"… Yeah. This was the first thing we ate when we met. It's actually the reason why I decided to call him 'Chip'."

His smile softened.

"But that's not important right now," he continued, "I want to understand."

"Understand what?"

"Why are you and Tails so jumpy about Siris?"

An unsettling silence surrounded them.

"I…" Amy began, but couldn't continue.

"Alright, how about this?" Sonic asked, "Siris, photos, floppy disk, secrets, dark past."

Amy's eyes widened.

"You knew?"

"I may have been a bit off when I told you guys how long I was at the café," Sonic replied, "I didn't hear everything, but I want to know what's going on, Amy. Could you please tell me?"

Amy sighed.

"I hope Siris doesn't hold a grudge when he finds out," she said.

"We'll see."

"Alright, I'll tell you everything I can."

Sonic nodded and silently listened to Amy. She told him about the photos that were on the disk, without actually saying what were on the photos. She then told about what James told her, followed by Siris' deal with them. There was a long silence among them after Amy finished.

"Sonic?" Amy asked.

Sonic had his eyes closed and his head down. Amy started getting mad.

"I swear, if you fell asleep, I'm gonna-"

"I'm not sleeping, Amy. Just thinking."

"Oh. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. But why didn't you or Tails tell me sooner?"

"Siris-"

"Besides that reason."

"Because…"

Amy sighed.

"Because we don't know if we can trust him or not. And we wanted… to protect you."

Sonic rubbed forehead and stood up.

"Sonic?" Amy asked as he began walking over to Tails.

"Come on, Amy," Sonic told her, "I want to say something to you and Tails."

Tails and Professor Pickle had just finished discussing the exact same topic when Sonic and Amy came over. As soon as Tails saw their expressions, he froze.

"She told you, didn't she?" he asked nervously.

Sonic nodded.

"Sonic… I… I didn't want to-"

Sonic raised a hand and Tails stopped talking.

"I'm not mad."

Tails and Amy swore their ears were toying with them.

"What?" the two asked simultaneously.

"I'm not mad. I'm a little disappointed, but I'm not mad. You guys were just protecting me, right?"

"Uh… well, yeah…" Tails said softly.

"So, you're not mad at us?" asked Amy, "But what about Siris?"

Sonic bit his lower lip.

"I'm… not sure."

"I believe you should give Siris a chance," Professor Pickle suggested.

The three turned to him in surprise.

"I know a thing or two about Siris. I must say, no good person should have had to endure what he went through," he explained, "In respecting his privacy, I must refuse to disclose any events of his life to you."

"And how does that justify your argument?" Sonic asked.

"It does not," the professor replied, "However, you are aware that he was Julian's prisoner for nearly a year, are you not?"

Amy was confused.

"Wait, he was serious about that?" she asked.

Sonic turned to Amy.

"Yeah, he was…"

The realization dawned on Sonic.

"Ah. I see your point, Professor," he said.

Professor Pickle nodded.

"Indeed. But other solemn events have happened to him as well. Would it not be polite to allow Siris to tell you his story rather than assume the worst of him before the facts are known to you?"

The three Mobians looked at each other and nodded.

"I suppose you're right, Professor," said Tails.

"It wouldn't be fair to Siris if we treat him like the enemy like this," Amy added.

"That's good to hear," said the professor, "And how about you, Sonic?"

Sonic walked away from the group and looked out over the ocean and into the horizon.

"I think…"

He then looked over his shoulder, smiling.

"I think we should give Siris a chance."

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ]** (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00)

"Uuugghh…" Siris sighed, "Of course it wouldn't even last two days."

"Are you okay, Master?"

Siris looked up at Sylvie. They were both sitting at the table; like yesterday, Siris was doing his best to answer her questions.

"I'm fine, Sylvie. Thanks for asking."

Sylvie nodded as she took a sip of hot chocolate.

"Should I stop asking you questions and go back to doing my chores?"

"No, it's fine. Go ahead, ask another."

"If Master is okay…"

Sylvie took a pause.

"Why did you have a secret button for-"

Sylvie stopped herself, knowing she just admitted to snooping around Siris' things.

"The one for the desk? I know you opened drawer."

Sylvie became anxious.

"I'm not mad, Sylvie."

"Oh. I'm… sorry, I shouldn't have looked. I was just cleaning, and I accidentally hit it."

"Sylvie… I'm not mad."

Sylvie calmed down a bit.

"Really?"

"Really," Siris replied, patting her on the head.

Sylvie didn't really react much to the gesture, as usual.

"There must be a proper way to react in a situation like this…" she said softly.

Siris just smiled and shook his head.

"In due time, Sylvie."

He removed his hand from her head.

"Now… what would you like to ask me next?"

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _*** October 16_ _,_ _2020 ***_

 _Adabat_

 **[ Adabat Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

After gliding for a few hours from island to island, Knuckles gently landed on a wooden dock. Once finally on solid ground, he stretched out his tired arms and legs. Since leaving Blue Moon Village, Knuckles hadn't slept at all. He was tired, but the afternoon sun was not helping.

"Jeez, it's so bright here," he muttered, blocking out the sun with his right hand, "I _hate_ it!"

A young woman with a basket on her head approached the echidna.

"Welcome to Adabat," she said politely, "What brings you here, traveler?"

"I'm looking for these," Knuckles replied, pulling out and showing the woman a couple of shards from the Master Emerald.

"What are those?"

"Sorry to sound rude, but that's not of your concern."

"Oh," she sighed, "My apologies."

"I didn't mean to sound rude, but I'm in a bit of a hurry. Have you seen anything like these around here lately?" Knuckles asked as he put the shards away in his inventory.

The girl pondered for a moment.

"Hmm… I'm afraid I haven't."

"I see."

"Maybe someone else in the village has seen one around," she suggested, "I'm sure no one would mind if you asked around. Everyone here is very kind and-"

"HEY, YOU! WHY ARE YOU TALKING TO MY DAUGHTER!?"

Knuckles and the woman turned to see a very angry middle-aged man storming over to them.

"Who's that?"

"My father, Teanchai."

The man stood between Knuckles and the woman. He had smoke bellowing from his ears.

"Can I help you?" Knuckles asked in a confused tone.

"Yeah, you can help me by staying away from my daughter!" Teanchai screamed.

Knuckles wiped some spit off his face.

"Father! This is a traveler. You can't just scream at every man who talks to me."

The man turned to his daughter.

"Rudi, you don't even know this guy," he said calmly, "For all we know, he could be another robot or whatever those nightmarish creatures were that attacked us years ago."

Rudi rolled her eyes.

"Father, that was years ago. We haven't had any attackers show up since then. You don't need to protect me from everything just because you're worried about me."

"I'm your father, it's my duty to protect you. Now, go on. Get back to work."

Rudi sighed and walked away, but not before waving farewell to Knuckles. As soon as she entered a hut, Teanchai turned back to Knuckles.

"What were you doing with my daughter!?"

Knuckles wiped his face again.

"Will you stop spitting on my face?"

"ANSWER MY QUESTION!"

Knuckles sighed.

"Look, I just arrived here. The moment I set foot on the dock, your daughter came up to me and welcomed me into the village. All we did was talk."

Teanchai glared at Knuckles.

"Really? That's exactly what some blue hedgehog said to me years ago!"

" _Is this the guy Sonic told us about when he went to Adabat?"_

"Look, I don't have time for this," Knuckles groaned, "I'm looking for something very important and I have no patience with crazy old men being over-protective, so if you'll excuse me…"

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING OLD!?"

"You, obviously. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be going now."

Knuckles walked past Teanchai and began approaching a group of villagers. He only managed to take four steps before Teanchai blocked his way.

"YOU HAVE SOME NERVE, TRAVELER! HAVE YOU NO RESPECT FOR-"

"Father, calm down!"

A young man rushed over and tried to calm his father down.

"Jamal, not now! This traveler has insulted me and was talking to my Rudi!"

Jamal shook his head.

"Father, why don't you sit down and drink some tea? You're causing a scene."

"A scene?! Me?! It's this traveler who's causing a scene, Jamal!"

Knuckles sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"This is pointless," he muttered, "Look, I'm leaving now, okay? I have better things to do other than arguing with dramatic, crazy old men."

"THAT'S IT! NOW YOU'RE GONNA GET IT!" Teanchai bellowed as he pushed past Jamal and walked up to Knuckles.

"Father, no!" Jamal pleaded.

But his words fell on deaf ears; Teanchai raised his left fist and sent it flying to towards Knuckles' face. A few villagers, who were watching the scene, gasped as they saw Teanchai throw a punch at the traveler.

 **(Pause music)**

 ***WUMP***

No one made a sound; the only things that could be heard were windchimes and the waves crashing in the ocean.

"Huh?" muttered Teanchai.

Everyone watched in slack-jawed amazement as Knuckles effortlessly held Teanchai's fist in his left hand.

"Sir… you do not want to fight me," Knuckles warned in a calm voice.

To further prove his point, Knuckles began pushing Teanchai back. It was so easy for the echidna, he might as well have been pushing nothing. Teanchai was so surprised by Knuckles' strength that as he was pushed back, he lost his footing and landed on his rear end.

"Father!" Jamal and Rudi called out.

As they kneeled by their father, he simply brushed their hands away.

"I'm fine!" he yelled, his ego damaged.

Knuckles felt bad and offered Teanchai a helping hand. He looked between Knuckles and the hand held out to him. With a scoff, he pushed it aside and got himself up. Before Knuckles could say anything, Teanchai stormed off to the docks and go into a boat. Knuckles sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Jamal told him, "He just needs some time alone right now to cool off."

 **(Continue music)**

Knuckles still felt bad. Rudi approached him.

"Look, I'm sorry about my father. He can be… over-protective at times."

Knuckles smirked.

"Ah, I'm not mad at him. I'm sure that's just what all fathers do."

Rudi nodded, and Knuckles turned his attention to Jamal.

"In any case, I was wondering if you could help me."

"Sure. What do you need?"

Knuckles showed Jamal a shard.

"Have you seen anything like this?"

Jamal looked at the shard for a moment before shaking his head.

"I haven't. But, maybe someone around the village has."

Knuckles nodded and began asking around the village. For a couple of hours, Knuckles asked every person he came across. Unfortunately, their answers were all the same; they haven't seen any Master Emerald shards at all.

" _There's got to be someone who's seen something,"_ Knuckles thought to himself, _"It's faint, but I sense a shard somewhere within this region. Where could it be?"_

As Knuckles walked along the wooden structure, he came across what appeared to be a goods trader.

"Excuse me?" Knuckles asked, "Have you seen anything like these lately?"

He showed the trader the fragments.

"Hmm… I don't believe I have."

Knuckles sighed.

"However… I do recall seeing a glowing green object flying in the air a few nights ago. Just like those little objects you're holding."

"Really? Where?!"

The trader pointed towards a large structure made of stone in the distance.

"I saw it disappear inside that structure."

"Thanks," said Knuckles as he began running in that direction.

"Wait, you mean to go inside that place?!" the trader asked with concern.

Knuckles stopped and turned back.

"If that's where I need to go, yes. Why?"

The trader shook his head.

"I must advise you to not go there," he warned, "That structure is extremely unstable and dangerous. It's very old and has begun to crumble. No one dares to even get near it."

"Well… thanks for the warning, but I'm no stranger to these kinds of things."

Before the trader could say another word, Knuckles took off into the distance. The trader said a small prayer for the echidna's safety.

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ Adabat – Jungle Joyride Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

 _One hour later…_

Knuckles walked up to the old stone structure. It appeared to be a temple of some sort. As Knuckles walked up a couple of stone steps, the structure began to shake a little. The disturbance caused some stone slabs to break off and fall to the ground, blocking the entrance.

"Great," Knuckles muttered under his breath.

He looked up and saw the scale of how high the temple was. With a heavy sigh, Knuckles hopped onto wall and began climbing. As he got higher, he could see more and more of the temple's exterior declining structural integrity. More than once did he lose his grip of footing as loose stone fell apart from the wall. But he was undeterred, for the more he climbed, the more he sensed a Master Emerald fragment near him. When he was only 50 feet from the top, he could see an emerald green glow emitting from the top. It vanished after another few feet of climbing. Finally, after you guys finally read the most boring climb ever, Knuckles reached the top. Dusting himself off, he looked around for any sign of a shard. He didn't, but he did see two things. The first was what appeared to be a small stone room, which appeared to be a room that held ancient relics from Adabat's previous generations. The second was something that just pissed him off. Fuming, he marched inside, hoping that it was just his eyes fooling him, even though he knew exactly what to expect. As he entered the room, he saw a chuckling Stetson wearing purple weasel.

 **(Music fades)**

"What do you think you're doing here, Fang!?" Knuckles growled.

 **[ Custom Themes: Fang the Sniper ]** (Uploaded by Purple Jester) (0:00)

The weasel turned around in shock, dropping a couple of relics to the ground. By now, you could probably guess that Knuckles saw the air bike outside.

"Kn-Knuckles!?" Fang yelped, "Long time no see… what are you doing here?"

"You tell me first," Knuckles rebuked, crossing his arms.

Fang collected himself, and the items he dropped, and headed for the exit.

"Me? Oh, nothing! Nothing at all! I'm just here to, uuhh… collect these artifacts for the good people of Adabat!"

Knuckles glared at him.

"No, no! Really! I was passing through the region and some folks asked me to collect these artifacts for them and bring them back! Really! Scout's honor!" Fang claimed as he held up his left hand.

"Scout's honor doesn't count when you're using your left hand," said Knuckles, causing a sweat drop to appear on Fang's temple.

"Right… well, I think I'm done with my retrieval, so I guess I'll be going now," Fang said nervously as he walked outside.

He didn't see the lone rock lying on the ground until his foot caught it, resulting in the "treasure hunter" introducing his face to the ground. Again, he dropped the relics to the ground, but a certain green crystal caught Knuckles' eye. Fang quickly recovered said crystal, hoping Knuckles didn't see it.

"You little thief!" Knuckles shouted, "Give me that Master Emerald shard right now!"

Knuckles charged toward Fang but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the revolver Fang had in his hand pointed at him.

"Aw, what's wrong, Knucklehead? Brought fists to a gun fight?" Fang sneered.

"You sure haven't changed a bit, Fang," Knuckles growled.

"Why, thank you! It's not every day that someone compliments me."

Knuckles attempted to take a step forward.

"Uh-uh-uh~. I don't think so, guardian," Fang mocked, cocking his revolver, "Take another step and I might end up with one less bullet in the chamber and one more in you."

"Wait…" said Knuckles, "That thing is loaded with bullets? They look like blanks to me."

 **Oh, come on, there's no way he's gonna fall for THAT!**

Fang looked confused as he brought his weapon in for a close inspection.

"Those aren't blanks, you stupid-"

 ***WUMP***

 **Never mind…**

Fang let a meek moan escape his lips as Knuckles removed his fist from his stomach. The gun fell from his hand and Knuckles caught it with his free hand. With a simple squeeze, he broken the gun and dropped the pieces to the ground.

"Give… me… THE SHARD," Knuckles growled.

"What shard?"

Knuckles cracked his namesakes, loudly.

"Oh, you mean this shard," Fang corrected himself, pulling out the shard from his inventory and giving it to Knuckles.

"Finally," he sighed.

While Knuckles was distracted with his newly acquired shard, Fang crawled over to his air bike and started the engine. Knuckles looked over.

"Huh? Hey, wait a minute!"

Fang painfully sneered at Knuckles as he took off into the late afternoon sky. Knuckles looked around for something he could use.

"That damn echidna," Fang moaned, "Of all the places he had to be, why here!? And now, the artifacts are no longer with me. Worse, that Master Emerald shard! Ooh, I swear, the next time I see him, I'll shove my gun so far up his-"

 ***CLANG***

"Huh?"

Fang looked around and saw a stone falling into the ocean below. The same stone that he tripped on. The same stone that made him lose his source of income. The same stone that just damaged his bike so much that the engine would not longer function without repairs. Fang looked back and forth from the engine to the ocean a few hundred feet below a couple of times. He then looked forward, deadpanning.

"Crap."

Knuckles watched as a purple weasel and his air bike fell into the ocean below.

 **[ Goofy Yell ]** (Uploaded by wwfbrawler781)

 **(Music fades)**

Satisfied with his throw, Knuckles turned his attention to the ancient relics scattered on the roof. He began collecting them, but sensed disaster coming. The whole temple was shaking, and cracks were appearing all around him. With time running out, Knuckles grabbed as many relics and artifacts as possible. As the temple collapsed, Knuckles was forced to take what he could save and glide away from the disaster.

" _Of course you would cause this much trouble, Fang."_

 **[ Adabat Night – Sonic Unleased Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

By the time Knuckles had reached the village again, the sun was beginning to set. The first thing he noticed as he entered was the troubled looks upon the villagers' faces. Jamal ran up to Knuckles.

"Ah, traveler, thank goodness you're okay."

"I'm fine, Jamal," said Knuckles, "What's going on?"

"The ancient temple… our ancestors' shrine that held so many sacred items… it collapsed," Jamal said solemnly.

"Oh, that?" Knuckles asked, pointing a thumb over his shoulder, "Yeah, I was there."

Jamal looked at Knuckles in disbelief.

"It was you? You destroyed-"

"Woah woah, hold on a second there!" Knuckles said loudly, "It wasn't my fault. This purple weasel was there stealing items from this treasure room and I stopped him."

Jamal blinked a few times.

"A purple weasel?"

"Yes, do I have to repeat myself?"

"Was he wearing a hat and carrying a firearm with him?"

"Yup. Mobian, sleazy attitude, thief?"

"That fiend! He was here just yesterday, claiming to be some kind of trader. Instead of selling goods, he just stole a handful of items and took off on that strange mechanical bike of his."

"Yup, that was definitely Fang," Knuckles sighed.

"Fang? He told us his name was Nack."

"Same guy. Long story. I'm sorry about your temple."

"Yeah…"

"But I did manage to save these."

"Huh?"

Knuckles reached behind him and revealed some of the artifacts he managed to bring with him.

"I don't believe it! Everyone! Come quickly! This traveler has saved our relics!"

Within seconds everyone had surrounded Knuckles.

"Is it true?"

"You saved our relics?"

"How did you do it?"

We all know Knuckles already has little patience. The fact that he kept his cool earlier that day with over 48 hours of no sleep was an accomplishment of its own. After what has happened in the past few hours, that patience is all but gone.

"ENOUGH!" he shouted, causing everyone to go silent.

After a moment of taking a couple of deep breaths, Knuckles pulled out every artifact he collected from the shrine and gently placed them on the ground in front of him. The villagers stared in awe. Knuckles placed the final relic on the ground and slowly got up.

"You're welcome," he said a calmly as possible, "Now, can someone please tell me where I can find a decent place to sleep?"

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _G.U.N. HQ_

 **[ Julien-K – This Machine – Instrumental ]** (Uploaded by Razor & Zenon) (0:00) (Loop)

Shadow and Omega walked out of the interrogation room. Rouge was leaning against the wall, right next to the door.

"Well? She asked, "Did he have anything useful to add?"

"No," Shadow responded.

"Well, no need for him then," said Rouge, "What should we do with him? We can't just return him to his world, not with Blaze staying here for now, looking for her Emeralds."

"Then keep him locked up," Shadow remarked, "Our orders remain the same; we search for the Chaos Emeralds and return them here."

As Shadow began walking away, Rouge stopped him.

"What about Siris?" she asked.

Shadow turned towards Rouge.

"What about him?"

"Shouldn't we tell the others about him? You know… about her?"

Shadow glared for a moment before looking away and walking off.

"Why bother? He's not our problem."

Rouge rolled her eyes and decided to drop the topic. As she and Omega followed Shadow, her communicator went off. She brought it up and saw that she received a message from Vector. Shadow stopped and looked at Rouge. Although he didn't ask, Rouge knew he was curious about what it was.

"It seems that the Chaotix have found a lead on a Chaos Emerald."

"About time. Where?"

"At Eggman's old base in the Mystic Ruins."

"Do they have it?"

"Not yet. Vector has asked for our assistance. Something about getting lost in the base or something."

Shadow sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What a joke…"

"Vector also said something about Knuckles needing help in Adabat. Something about the Master Emerald shards and another Emerald."

Shadow narrowed his eyes.

"Two Emeralds?"

"I guess they are more useful than you think, Shadow."

"Hmph. What do you propose we do?"

"You and Omega head for the Mystic Ruins and help the Chaotix, while I help that Knucklehead find his Emerald shard and retrieve the Chaos Emerald."

Shadow didn't respond for a moment.

"Very well. Omega?"

The robot turned his attention to the black hedgehog.

"Let's get going."

Rouge and Omega were confused.

"As ordered, I cannot use Chaos Control for the duration of the mission, unless in serious danger."

"I see. Well, you boys have fun," Rouge teased as she walked down the hall.

Shadow and Omega looked at each other before walking the opposite direction. They had a long journey ahead of them to reach the base in the Mystic Ruins.

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 _Unknown_

 **[ Nightmare Music ]** (Uploaded by Cryo Chamber) (20:06)

Darkness. Nothing but a dark, empty, black void.

"Where am I?"

A cry of pain was heard nearby.

"Who's… who's there?"

No response.

"Show yourself!"

A Mobian covered in blood appeared a couple of feet away.

"Who... who are you?"

The Mobian opened their eyes, revealing a pair of red, glowing eyes surrounded by black sclera.

"You know exactly who I am, hedgehog."

No response.

"There's no point in denying it, we both know the truth…"

The distorted figure then appeared inches away.

"You failed to save them because you broke your promise."

An image appeared in the hedgehog's mind for a brief moment.

"No… No! That's…. that's not true!"

"Oh? So, you didn't lose control? You didn't lie? You didn't listen to me?"

Another image, more gruesome, appeared in their mind.

"Shut up… just shut up!"

"Maybe if you had only told them the truth before… they would still be alive."

"You know NOTHING!"

"Wrong. I know everything about you. And you know why?"

The dark figure vanished and whispered into his ear.

"I am you… _SIRIS_."

"NO!" Siris screamed as he shot up from his bed.

Gasping for air, Siris wiped his face.

"Another damn nightmare," he muttered as he got out of bed and walked into the bathroom.

He turned on the lights, diming them so they wouldn't wake Sylvie; glad that she was still sleeping after his scream. He looked in the mirror and saw the extent of his tired expression. Siris turned the faucet on for warm water and splashed his face a couple of times. As he wiped the water from his eyes, he looked back into the mirror and saw something that terrified him; standing behind him was the one person he feared above all.

"Julian!?"

Before Siris could react, he felt two large hands tightly grip around his throat, cutting off the air to his lungs. Choking and scrambling to escape his captor, Siris could do nothing but stare as he saw Julian's sadistic smile grow bigger as his own dark blue eyes began to turn red. As the last of his consciousness waned, Julian whispered the most terrifying thing Siris would ever hear.

"You will always be mine."

Siris shot up from his bed, taking in a huge breath of air and coughing a few times.

 **(Music fades)**

He rubbed his neck and looked around, making sure what he saw wasn't real. Siris sighed in relief.

" _Thank God and Chaos."_

He looked over to his alarm clock to check the time, forgetting he could have done so on the communicator. It read 11:30 PM. Once he was calm, he noticed that his communicator was beeping. He brought up to his face.

" _A message? At this hour? Well, I'm already awake, might as well read it."_

Siris pressed a couple of buttons and the message appeared before him. It only took a few of seconds for Siris to find the message to be rather suspicious. Hoping he wouldn't mind being called this late, regardless of time zone, Siris called Tails.

" _ **Hello?" Tails yawned.**_

"Sorry to call you so late, Tails."

" _ **Oh, hey, Siris… Uh, you're not calling about earlier, are you?"**_

"What? No, not at all. I told you before, I'm fine about you and Amy telling Sonic and the Professor about what happened in the café. I'm irritated of the fact that it happened, but I'm not gonna hold that against you guys."

" _ ***Sigh* Alright, if you say so. So… why are you calling?"**_

"Well, this might sound strange, but did you guys give Rouge my contact info to my communicator?"

" _ **No… why?"**_

"Well, unless Mighty or Ray did, Rouge has somehow managed to send me a message without actually knowing my contact info."

" _ **That does sound strange, Siris. But you know Rouge is a G.U.N. agent, so it wouldn't surprise me that she managed to get your contact info by some means of her own."**_

Siris sighed.

"Maybe… listen, you have her contact info?"

" _ **Yeah. Here, I'm sending it to you now."**_

"Got it. Thanks, Tails."

" _ **What's going on, Siris? This seems a bit weird for someone to call me over."**_

"The message I got said something about Knuckles and the Chaotix needing help over in Adabat. I dunno, it just seems… weird that Rouge would tell me, of all people, something like this, with or without my contact info."

" _ **Well, you were a G.U.N. agent, so-"**_

"Fair enough. But I just want to be sure. You never know, especially when we don't even know what our enemy is capable of."

" _ **That sure sounds like something we should be careful of."**_

"Don't worry about it, Tails. Go back to sleep. If something urgent comes up, you guys will be the first to know."

" _ **Alright. Night, Siris."**_

Siris ended the call and contacted Rouge. After four failed attempts, she finally answered.

" _ **WHO IS THIS?!"**_

"Good to hear you again too, Rouge."

" _ **Siris?"**_

"No, it's Mr. Magoo."

" _ **Aww, do you need a pair of glasses?"**_

"Very funny, Rouge."

" _ **I'm surprised you're calling me now, after over, what, two years?"**_

"Yeah, well, to be fair, you did change your contact info, so I had no way of actually getting in touch with you… other than _that_ way."

" _ **This isn't a social call, is it?"**_

"Nice to see that Shadow's been rubbing off on you."

Siris sighed.

"No. It's not. I think I already know that answer, but you didn't by any chance send me a message to my communicator a few minutes ago, did you?"

" _ **Siris, I didn't even know you had a communicator from Tails. How could I?"**_

"Figures. I'm forwarding the message that you had allegedly sent me."

"… _**I see. Funny, cause all this is true."**_

"But you didn't send it?"

" _ **No, I didn't."**_

"Hmm…"

" _ **Siris… you don't think-"**_

"Maybe. I can't be sure, though. Not without evidence."

" _ **At least you're more logical than I last saw you."**_

"Watch it, Rouge," Siris growled, "That's a topic I am not discussing with you."

"… _**Sorry. That was harsh."**_

Siris took a deep breath.

"No, you are right. In a way, I suppose."

Silence.

"What's your plan?"

" _ **I'm already on my way to Adabat to help that echidna. I still can't believe he forgot his communicator."**_

"Heard about that, huh?"

" _ **Vector told me after Mighty told him. He said Mighty and Ray went off to Adabat while he, Espio, and Charmy allegedly found a Chaos Emerald in the Mystic Ruins."**_

"Well, at least progress is being made. By the way, how are things between you and Knuckles?"

" _ **Oh, really? You want to go there?"**_

"Aww, so you still like him," Siris teased, "Have you gone on a date yet?"

" _ **Goodbye, Siris."**_

"Alright. Later, Rouge. Stay in touch with everyone. Me included."

" _ **You? Joining Sonic's little adventure parade?"**_

Before Siris could answer, Rouge laughed and hung up on him.

"Well, when you put it that way… yeah. I guess I am," he murmured to himself.

With a sigh, Siris laid back down and tried to sleep. He rubbed his forehead with his thumb and index finger.

"Another damn headache…"

* * *

 _*** October 17, 2010 ***_

 _A few miles from Adabat_

 **[ Dark Ambient Music Mix ]** (Uploaded by Cry Chamber) (0:00 – 1:20) (No need to loop)

A storm was brewing in the hours long before the sun would rise. A cloaked figure was floating over an ocean that was releasing steam into the darkness around them. Volcanic activity had been increasing rapidly in the area for the last few days, making the search for the Chaos Emerald a bit more challenging. A beep was heard, and the figure allowed the incoming call to go through.

" _ **It would seem that the echidna has already found the Master Emerald shard. I'm very disappointed in you."**_

The figure replied back via text message.

" _ **I don't want progress, I WANT RESULTS! *SLAM*"**_

Before the figure could respond, a large demonic hand rose from the sea, revealing a glowing red gem within its palm. The figure nodded and began transmitting a live video-feed back to base.

" _ **Ah, well done. I must apologize once more to you. This changes things for the two of you a little bit. I have new data for the two of you."**_

The figure and the thing beneath the sea received a map of the area with clusters of red dots on them.

" _ **All it takes is one for the Demon to be strong enough to defeat anything, be it with a Chaos Emerald or a creature alone. But with one of each, he will be more powerful than Chaos ever was with all seven Chaos Emeralds. Go. Capture one of these creatures. You two know what to do next."**_

A flash of lightning revealed the metallic features on the cloaked figures face. And vanished into darkness as the thunder boomed from the sky.

 _Back at base…_

"The plan is coming together better than I expected."

"I can see that."

"The time has come. You have permission to attack the hedgehog. Bring him to me, _alive._ Leave no witnesses."

 **(Music fades)**

 _Adabat Village_

Knuckles woke up to the feeling of water dripping on his face.

"Hm?" he groaned as he sat up and wiped his face.

After his honorable deed, as the villagers praised it, one of the shop keepers was kind enough to let Knuckles sleep in his shop for the night. On most days of the year, the sun would be shining brightly over the village. The storm, however, had other plans. Knuckles walked outside and saw that it was raining quite hard. Thunder could be heard from the distance.

"It's the volcanic activity," the shop keeper explained to Knuckles, "Every couple of decades, we get more rain than usual. But this is the worst I've ever seen it."

"Is the village safe?"

"Oh, don't worry. This village has survived worse. It's not going anywhere for a long time," the shop keeper assured the echidna.

"Hm. Thank you for letting me rest here for the night."

"It was the least I could do. It is us who should be thanking you."

Knuckles gave the shop keeper a small smile and nodded before heading outside. His stomach began making noises.

"I wonder what kind of food I could find here," Knuckles pondered sarcastically as he stared at all the fish around him.

He entered a nearby structure that served the villagers meals. After buying his breakfast he headed down to the docks and sat on the edge to begin eating. Why is he out in the rain you might ask?

 ***leans in very close and whispers* Because I can.**

 **Silence.**

 **Me: Or it's because he'd rather be left alone while eating. You know, saving the artifacts and what not? Anyways…**

As he took another bite, Knuckles heard a grunt from behind. He turned around and saw Teanchai glaring at him. Knuckles deduced he had just returned from fishing, since he was carrying quite a few upon his back.

"Look," Knuckles began, "I wanted to apologize about yesterday. I was being rude to you and…"

Teanchai ignored him and walked into the village. Knuckles shook his head in disbelief.

"Making new friends, Knuckles?"

" _Please, God… Chaos… Tikal… anyone up there… please tell me that's not who I think it is…"_

Knuckles slowly turned his head around and saw a certain white bat he was hoping was not here.

"Hi… long time, no see," she said in her seductive voice.

"What have I done to deserve this?" Knuckles muttered to himself, "What are you doing here, Rouge?"

"What, no 'hello'?"

Knuckles picked up the remainder of his breakfast and shoved it all in his mouth. After swallowing his food, he responded.

"How about a 'goodbye' instead?"

"Wow. That guy must be your new best friend."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and walked back into the village, trying to ignore Rouge. She frowned and ran up to him.

"There's an evil scheming to take over the world and this is how you act?" she asked him.

Knuckles stopped and turned to her.

"Oh, so now you've joined in on the fun? Well, good for you. Now if you don't mind, I have-"

"A Master Emerald to restore? Yeah, Tails told me."

"What a surprise," Knuckles said sarcastically.

The two went silent for a few moments. Rouge raised a brow.

"Uh, this is the part where you accuse me of trying to steal your Emerald or something," she stated.

"I would be, if you were a robot."

"So, you lost your Emerald to a robot."

"Laugh it up, Rouge. Why are you even here?"

Before she could answer, a scream from nearby caught the Mobians' attention. They saw villagers staring in terror and pointing at something that was behind the two. Knuckles and Rouge turned around and looked up. In the air were four SWAT-bots, all heavily modified with stronger armor and 10-inch long wrist-mounted blades on each wrist. Floating ahead of them was the cloaked figure. Knuckles gritted his teeth and glared at the figure.

"Target sighted. Master Emerald fragments located," one of the SWAT-bots stated in a robotic tone.

"It seems they want the Master Emerald as well," Rouge joked dryly.

"That's him," Knuckles muttered.

Rouge turned to him.

"That's the cloaked robot that tried to steal my Emerald a week ago!"

Rouge gave Knuckles a look.

"Really? That clocked one? By itself?"

She sighed.

"You must be in bigger trouble than I thought."

Knuckles turned to her,

"Huh?"

While the two were talking, the SWAT-bots eagerly awaited their orders. Eventually, the cloaked figure raised its right hand up and signaled the attack. The sound of the robots' jetpacks returned Knuckles and Rouge's attention back to them. Instead of charging at the duo, the SWAT-bots made their way toward the villagers. Knuckles and Rouge turned to the villagers.

"RUN!" they shouted.

 **[ Persona 4: I'll Face Myself -Battle- Extended ]** (Uploaded by ZEROzxCross) (0:00)

As the robots flew above them, Knuckles and Rouge leapt into the air. Knuckles punched third robot into the forth as Rouge kicked the second into the first, sending both pairs to crash into the nearby huts. As they landed, Knuckles summoned his Hammer Gloves while Rouge activated her Iron Boot heels. Standing back to back, they readied themselves for another attack. Seconds later, the four SWAT-bots charged from the wreckages, blades readied. The two began charging the enemies.

 **{ Knuckles }**

Knuckles slid under the swinging blades of the first robot and jumped in front of the second.

"Hyaaah!"

A perfectly timed uppercut with his right fist connected with the robot's head, sending it flying back into the wreckage. With quick reflexes, Knuckles jumped the to side, avoiding the first robots attempt to stab him in the back. The robot proceeded to relentlessly slash at its opponent. However, being an extremely skilled fighter, Knuckles managed to either dodge or deflect every swing coming his way. As the SWAT-bot went for backhanded swing, Knuckles used his arm to push excess force under the robot's wrist, causing the attack to go over his head and giving him the opportunity to send his other hand straight into the robot's chest. The punch stunned the SWAT-bot; now was his chance. Showing no mercy, Knuckles sidestepped around the robot, constantly throwing his fists into every part he could reach. Torso, left leg, left leg, right leg, torso, torso, if he could reach it as he moved, he went for it. The SWAT-bot recovered a few seconds later and managed to grab Knuckles' right arm, mid-attack. Knuckles' eyes widened.

"Uh oh."

 ***WUMP***

The robot had pulled Knuckles toward him and kneed him in the abdomen; both arm and leg had incredible strength. Knuckles slowly fell to one knee, gripping his stomach.

"Uuuhh…" he moaned, "That hurt. Ow!"

A shadow encased Knuckles; he looked up and saw the SWAT-bot that just kneed him and smirked.

"That all you got?"

The SWAT-bot went for a scissor-attack on the pained Mobian.

 **{ Rouge }**

Rouge leapt into the air and over the first robot. As she flew over the second, she began to spin at high speeds and darted towards the SWAT-bot. It tried to slash her in half, but the combined strength of her Iron Boot heels and her signature Screw Kick resulted in the robot's blade snapping off; the sharp piece of metal spun in the air and splashed into the sea. With nothing to protect itself in the short period of time, Rouge's heels began to drill into the SWAT-bot's chest, causing sparks and small bits of metal to fly everywhere. The first robot tried to attack from above. As it raised its blade, Rouge stopped attacking and backflipped over the first SWAT-bot as the blade came slashing down. The blade slashed something alright; right through the second SWAT-bot's chest, creating an even bigger opening than Rouge made. Rouge landed behind the SWAT-bot, which was trying to pull its blade out of it injured partner. **Assuming its partner was still its partner and not too pissed about the whole attack thing.**

"Still trying to kill me? *Tsk tsk tsk* When will you robots ever learn?"

The blade finally slid free from the metal body. The first robot charged at Rouge again. This time, she simple sidestepped around the SWAT-bot. She then readied herself to attack it from behind, when…

 ***WUMP***

"AAAAHHH!"

Rouge didn't see the damaged SWAT-bot behind her getting back up and ramming into her back, sending Rouge to the ground and skidding toward the other robot, facedown. The SWAT-bot kicked her over and grabbed her by the throat with its left hand. Holding her up, it readied its blade on its right wrist and pulled its fist back; going for the killing blow. Rouge could do nothing but watch in horror as the blade darted towards her chest.

 **(Pause the music and open another tab for the next song)**

 **{ Knuckles }**

 **[ Elevator Music 1 hour ]** (Uploaded by Antoine B) (0:00)

Meanwhile, Knuckles had already finished dealing with his robots and was now enjoying a nice mango smoothie, not caring at all if Rouge would die or not. Life was go-

 **Me: GET THE F*** OFF MY COMPUTER!**

 **Sonic and Knuckles: RUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!**

 ***A truck-load of furniture being thrown, ceramic items being smashed, glass breaking, cats screeching, and fabric tearing later***

 ***Tails watches me reenter the room***

 **Me: *Reads Sonic and Knuckles' "masterpiece"* Wha-what? Why? When will that red idiot learn that he has feelings for the bat?**

 **Tails: When Rouge learns she has feelings for him as well… which is probably when Hell freezes over.**

 **Me: *Sigh* I am so sorry, readers. Let me fix this.**

 **Tails: *Shakes head* I told them not to.**

 **Me: I'm literally gone for only 30 seconds to go take a piss and this happens. If they come back in here, I'm gonna kill them… Think I should invite Silver and Blaze here next time? *Tails shrugs* Alright, back to the actual story.**

 ***Knuckles' hand appears from the doorway***

 **Knuckles: *Meekly* Help me…**

 **Me: *sigh* Tails… call 911 and tell them there's gonna be a double homicide here in a minute…**

 **(Okay, you can close this tab and continue playing the Persona 4 one)**

 _Meanwhile, back in the story..._

 **{ Knuckles (Real) }**

Knuckles leapt into the air just before the blades were able to make contact with his fur. He vaulted over the SWAT-botand swung his fist in the back of the robot's head. Landing on the ground, Knuckles looked up and saw sparks flying from the back of the SWAT-bot's head. His enemy's weakness known, Knuckles leapt onto the robot's shoulders and started beating the robot's damaged head, relentlessly. With one final right hook, the SWAT-bot's head was sent flying from its body, sailing through the air before disappearing in the ocean. Knuckles hopped off the lifeless body as it began to fall forward.

"Hmph," he muttered, wiping the rainwater from his eyes.

"AAAAHHH!"

"Huh?"

Knuckles whipped his head around in the direction of the scream. He saw Rouge on the ground, laying before a SWAT-bot. The robot kicked her over and lifted her into the air by her neck. He didn't notice it at the time, but the sight of Rouge terrified and helpless to defend herself caused a fire to burn in the echidna's heart. The onlooking villagers gasped as the SWAT-bot began to thrust its blade towards the white bat.

"HEY!"

The SWAT-bot's blade stopped millimeters from Rouge's chest. Both robot and bat turned their attention to where the shout came from. Before either could see it, something large and heavy collided with the SWAT-bot, causing it to release Rouge instantly. Fueled by rage, Knuckles had grabbed the decapitated robot's ankle with this right hand and, summoning all his strength into his right arm, hurled the robot carcass at Rouge's captor. Rouge watched the two hunks of metal crash into another hut, causing the SWAT-bot's power core to be severely damaged. A moment later, a small explosion destroyed the remains of the hut. Blinking a few times, Rouge turned to Knuckles and saw him taking a couple of deep breathes. His eyes met hers. Neither said or did anything.

 **(Music fades)**

It wasn't until the SWAT-bot Rouge damaged earlier began moving did Knuckles gesture with his head to it was approaching Rouge. Without taking her eyes off Knuckles, Rouge smirked and heel-kicked the floorboard next to her. Cracks began to spread across the wood, which was the only thing keeping the SWAT-bot away from the water below. Inches away from Rouge, the robot attempted to grab her ankle and strangle her.

*CRASH*

Knuckles watched as the SWAT-bot fell into the seawater and short-out as Rouge continued to smirk at him. Although there were more pressing matters at the moment, for an instant there, Knuckles gave Rouge a small smile from the corner of his face; feeling as though everything in world was perfect. Suddenly, Rouge's face changed to one of urgency.

"BEHIND YOU!" Rouge screamed.

Knuckles turned around, but it was too late; the second SWAT-bot he was fighting earlier was only feet away, rushing up to him with blade held forward. Suddenly, a fishing spear came flying like a bat out of Hell and pierced through the robot's head and shutting it down. The body went limp and slid across the floor, slowing down enough for Knuckles to jump aside. Noticing the metal fishing tool embedded in the robot, Knuckles looked over to the crowd and saw a certain fisherman standing in front of the rest of the villagers. Teanchai walked over to the robot and pulled the spear out. He then turned to Knuckles; the two just stared at each other. Without saying a word, Teanchai held out an open hand. Knuckles smirked and shook his hand. Teanchai nodded as he let his hand go and walked back toward the villagers. Knuckles looked into his palm and saw the Master Emerald shard Teanchai handed him.

As another bolt of lightning shot through the air, Knuckles put the shard away and glanced over his shoulder to the cloaked robot that hadn't even moved an inch throughout the fight. Rouge walked over to Knuckles as he turned to face the enemy. Thunder boomed across the area before another bolt of lightning flashed. Knuckles and Rouge prepared to attack. Instead of charging at them, the figure turned around and took off.

"HEY!" the duo shouted together as the launched into the air and chased after it.

Knuckles and Rouge managed to keep the robot in their sights as they glided over the ocean, but there was no way they could keep up with its speed. Rouge activated her communicator.

"This is Rouge! I need an immediate pickup, right now! Have the plane meet me and an associate along our trajectory!"

Knuckles looked over to Rouge.

"What are you doing? Don't tell me you're just gonna let that thing get away!"

"Far from it, echidna! Now shut up and just keep going after that robot!"

"Hmph… women," Knuckled muttered quietly so that Rouge wouldn't hear.

Minutes went by, and the robot was now only a speck in the shortened distance that they could see due to the rain, clouds, and steam. Knuckles was losing his patience.

"Rouge…"

She didn't reply.

"You know we're gonna lose it, right?"

She still didn't reply.

"Are you even listening?"

Nothing.

"HEY!"

"Heads up, Knucklehead."

"What…? WHOA!"

Had it not been for Rouge, Knuckles would have missed the open door to the small private jet issued to G.U.N. and slammed into the side of it. Lucky for him, Rouge pulled him by the arm just in time and they slipped through the door. They hit the floor as the door closed, tumbled a couple of times before somehow bouncing into the air and landing in two seats, right next to one another. Trust me, even I still don't know how they managed that.

 **Me: Tails, not one word from you.**

"Oowww…" Knuckles moaned, rubbing his head.

"Uuuhh…" Rouge sighed heavily as she rubbed her shoulder.

They looked at each other for a brief moment, both annoyed, before the pilot got their attention.

"Where to, Agent!?" he called out.

Rouge got up from her seat and rushed over to the pilot.

"Follow that robot!" she ordered pointing out the window.

The pilot nodded and turned the plane in the direction of the escaping robot. Rouge walked back into the cabin and sat in a seat, away from Knuckles, but not too far for conversation. The two would occasionally glance at the other. After three minutes of silence, Rouge sighed.

"Well?" she asked, irritated.

Knuckles looked over to her.

"Well, what?"

"Aren't you going to say, 'Thank you'?"

Knuckles glared.

"Thank you for what? You didn't save me back in the village. If anything, you should be the one thanking me."

Oh, boy. Here we go…

"Excuse me? Did preventing you from getting sliced in half by the plane's wing mean nothing to you?"

Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"If been hit by worse. Besides, I would have simply hung on to the wing."

Now it was Rouge's turn to roll her eyes.

"Okay, Mr. I-Don't-Care," she scoffed, "And for the record, you didn't save me in the village. I had it completely under control."

"Heh… Sure. Guess I shouldn't have bothered helping you then," Knuckles remarked.

Rouge's hands clenched into tight fists.

"Fine! Be that way! Like I care, anyways!" she yelled.

"Good!" he responded, "Because I don't either, and I _never_ have!"

That one hurt Rouge's heart more than anything had before. Rouge looked away; she couldn't bare to even look at the echidna.

" _So, he really doesn't care."_

A single tear fell down her cheek.

"Agent Rouge."

Rouge wiped her eyes and walked over to the pilot.

"What is it?" she asked.

"See for yourself."

Rouge looked down at the radar. The signal from the robot indicated that it was no longer moving. But the radar showed something else, something that wasn't there a week ago.

"An island?"

"It would seem so. Given the volcanic activity recently, this island must have been a result of a small eruption from the ocean floor. The ocean cooled the lava to form this small, but sizable island," the pilot explained.

"How long before we reach it?"

"Less than a minute. Unfortunately, I wasn't aware of this, so it'll take a bit longer to land."

"How much longer?"

"Given the high possibility that the island isn't very stable, another 10 minutes."

At that moment, they both heard the sound of wind rushing through a now open cabin door. They turned to see Knuckles standing by the door.

"There's no point in wasting time! I'm going now!" he shouted.

"Knuckles, wait!" Rouge called out.

Too late, Knuckles had already made his decision and jumped. Had it not been for the dire situation, Knuckles might have not minded waiting the 10 minutes to land. But once the plane flew near the island, he sensed an energy source that he knew could only come from a Chaos Emerald.

" _Ugh… why did that pilot have to fly so high above the ground?"_ he thought to himself as he plummeted toward the island.

As he got closer, his eyes caught sight of the cloaked robot. It was just standing there, as though it was waiting for them. With the momentum from the plane when he jumped out of it, Knuckles had only one shot at getting the robot by surprise. When the target appeared to be directly below him, Knuckles launched himself directly at it with a Drill Claw attack.

Down below, the robot stood patiently, waiting for Knuckles and Rouge to come attempt to extract information from it. Which was exactly what it had planned. It watched as the plane flew away and turn back around in order to make an attempt to land. But instead of coming full swing around, it just flew away into the distance. Not exactly what the synthetic creation had in mind in terms of things going to plan; its lord was not going to like this. It should have just ended both the echidna and bat's lives back at the village.

 ***CLANG***

Before it knew it, the cloaked figure was slammed into the ground, face first, by an unseen object that fell above it. Hopping off the downed robot, Knuckles jumped back a few feet, not willing to give the robot a chance to catch him off guard like it did in their previous skirmish. The robot began to pick itself off the ground.

 ***CLANG***

Again, the robot's head was slammed into the ground; this time from Rouge's Screw Kick. After her attack connected, Rouge was sent back into the air and she glided over to Knuckles' side. The two took an offensive fighting stance as the cloaked figure got back up onto its feet.

"You just couldn't wait, could you?" she scowled Knuckles, without taking her eyes off their opponent.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

"Not with a Chaos Emerald here, Rouge."

She glanced over at Knuckles.

"What are you talking about? There's a Chaos Emerald here?"

"Mm-hmm," Knuckles confirmed, nodding, "As we got closer to this area, I could sense its energy. There's no doubt about it; there's an Emerald somewhere around here."

He shoved his hands into his inventory for a moment. When he pulled them out, he revealed his hands, now donning both his Hammer Gloves and his Shovel Claws. Red energetic sparks flew around his fists as he pounded them together.

"Well, you're the expert; where is it?" Rouge asked as the robot turned towards them.

"It's here somewhere… but not up here. I must be beneath us."

Rouge gave Knuckles a look.

"Knuckles, we're on a newly formed volcanic island. It's made of obsidian and basalt. How do you expect to dig into this hard-solid rock?"

The robot charged at them.

"Like this," Knuckles smirked as bent over towards the ground and sent his right fist into the island.

The ground around them began the shake for a second before a small geyser of lava erupted from the ground directly in front of the robot's path. It changed direction before the lava had engulfed it; however, its cloak was inflammable **(Why the f*** is that even a word? It's the same as saying flammable. I swear, the English language is such a pain in the ass at times… and it's the only one I know…)** , so, surprise, surprise, it caught fire from the rogue droplets of lava. Now, instead of cloaked robot charging Knuckles and Rouge, it was a flaming cloaked robot. But that didn't faze Knuckles; with a well-timed punch across the face, the robot was forced back a couple dozen feet. It was that instantaneous moment before Knuckles clobbered the enemy's head. As it flew above the ground, the robot managed to recover and land on the ground with ease. It glanced up at Knuckles.

"Why keep that flaming rag on? I know who you are," Knuckles growled.

Red eyes glowed harshly from the robot's head; with one hand, it ripped off the burning cloak and revealed itself to the echidna for the first time in nearly 10 years. Its face was the only thing Knuckles needed to see to deduce their identity, even before the cloak was removed. The height and cobalt color were dead giveaways.

"Mecha Sonic."

Lightning crashed behind the robot. Rouge turned to Knuckles.

"What is that thing? You know of it?" she asked.

"One of Sonic's robotic doppelgangers that Eggman created years ago," Knuckles explained, "It once stole the Master Emerald and took it to Sky Sanctuary. I managed to corner it there, but it wouldn't go down without a fight. It went as far as to harnessing the power of the Master Emerald just to stop me."

"But you still managed to defeat it?"

"Single handedly," he smirked proudly, still not taking his eyes off Mecha.

"If you managed to defeat a robot that harnessed to power of the entire Master Emerald, how come you couldn't handle a robot with a single Master Emerald shard?" Rouge asked.

 ***Glass breaks***

"… shut up."

Rouge smirked in amusement.

"So, what's our plan?" she asked.

Before Knuckles could answer, Mecha Sonic began to charge up his spin dash. He and Rouge focused on the oversized Sonic robot.

"Plan? Fight the bad guy, find the Chaos Emerald, and repeat until we save the world," he replied, "… After I restore the Master Emerald, of course."

Rouge sighed.

"Well… I guess that could be a plan, coming from you," she muttered, taking her eyes off Mecha Sonic for one second.

"ROUGE, MOVE!"

Without hesitating, Rouge leapt into the air, just in time to avoid a spin dashing Mecha Sonic from crashing into her. Knuckles had already moved out of the way and warned her just as he side-stepped out of the wrecking ball's path. Rouge landed beside Knuckles and the two then turned to face their enemy. The blur of metal flew up a couple of feet, stopped spinning, and fell to the ground; Mecha Sonic landed on one knee before standing away from them. Suddenly, the ground beneath their feet began to shake again.

"Whooaaa…" said Knuckles.

"What's g-going on-n?" Rouge asked.

Her answer came in the form of a flash of red shooting out of the ground right behind Mecha Sonic's feet and floating behind him. Mecha Sonic turned around and slowly grasped the object. The duo realized what it was.

"The Chaos Emerald!" they shouted at the same time.

 **[ Blue Falcon – Shadow the Hedgehog Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

They watched as the robot absorbed the red Chaos Emerald into its metal frame; a surge of power coursed through his body as he unleashed his reawaken Chaos abilities. The sheer power radiating from Mecha Sonic could be felt by the two Mobians. With a red aura glowing around him, Mecha Sonic glanced over to Knuckles and Rouge. Before either of them could react, Mecha Sonic phased behind them and backhanded them with both arms.

 ***WUMP***

"UUURRGGH!"

"AUUUGGGHH!"

The two slid across the rough surface of the island. Knuckles was the first to stand back up, and just in time too; Mecha Sonic was going after him again. The robot's first punch was dodged as Knuckles braced himself for the upcoming onslaught.

" _Damn, he's fast,"_ he thought as he blocked or matched every punch that came his way.

Rouge finally got back up and saw Knuckles trying to fend off Mecha Sonic's attacks; he was holding up now, but unlike the robot, he'll tire out soon. She rushed behind Mecha Sonic and did a spin kick across his body. It didn't do much in terms of damage, but it did stun Mecha Sonic and shove him a few feet away from them. As he turned to face the bat, he saw Knuckles only inches away before a single punch to the head sent the robot flying back a few more feet. Stunned again, the robot tried to recover, but a tag team attack from Knuckles and Rouge was already upon him; a single punch and a single kick sent him flying another 15 feet. The force of the attack was so strong that Knuckles and Rouge managed to remove the Chaos Emerald from his body. Mecha Sonic laid on the ground, completely defeated. Knuckles and Rouge gave each other a look.

 **(Music fades)**

"Really?" she asked, "You sure this was the same robot that tried to steal the Master Emerald like you said?"

"I'm sure," Knuckles answered, "But something's not right."

Rouge walked over the to downed Mecha Sonic and checked to see if he was powered down.

"He appears to have gone offline."

They both look over at the Chaos Emerald that had flown a few feet away from the scene and landed on the ground. The duo hadn't even gotten a chance to take a single step before the ground began to shake again.

"Not again!" Knuckles shouted.

Rouge did her best to glare at the echidna.

"It was you! Your punch must have caused a chain reaction, causing another volcanic eruption!"

Knuckles glared back.

"What eruption!? The island is shaking, and I don't see any-"

A huge wall of lava shot out of the ground near the Chaos Emerald.

"You were saying?"

Knuckles didn't respond, he was too shocked to see something rising from the lava.

"Hello? Knucklehead!?"

Knuckles simply pointed toward the giant object looming over them. Rouge looked over and saw.

"Oh."

From the lava pool rose a huge demonic looking robot; sharp teeth, horns, clawed hands. **(Look up the Old Iron King from Dark Souls 2. Lose the wings, turn it into a robot, that's basically what it looks like.)** On its shoulder, they could see a model designation that read "D3-V11", or Devil, if you were imaginative. Shaking off the shock, Knuckles and Rouge ran as fast as they could to grab the Chaos Emerald. The Devil held its left palm out towards them; deep red flames erupted from it and blocked the heroes' way. Knuckles and Rouge backed off. With its huge right hand, the Devil grabbed the Chaos Emerald from the ground and absorbed it into its body.

"Damn," Knuckles muttered.

"It seems they're now sending the big guns," Rouge dryly joked.

With Chaos energy in its grasp, the Devil bellowed a mighty roar into the sky as it raised both of its fists above its head. Knuckles and Rouge braced for whatever their new opponent had in store.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

 ***BOOM***

The Devil slammed its fists into the ground, unleashing a shockwave of red flames and Chaos energy. The attack sent the duo flying back a few feet, but they managed to land on their feet.

"Huh… guess this is where the real fight begins," said Knuckles.

"Indeed," said Rouge, "But this is nothing we haven't fought before."

"Alright, let's get him!"

 _Meanwhile, back at Siris' home…_

It was barely even the crack of dawn. Siris couldn't get the nightmare out of his mind. It had been years since he had anything as terrifyingly bad as that. To help get his mind off of it, Siris decided to retrain his skills before the day began. So, here he was now, goggles around his neck, outside, behind his home with an improvised training dummy… okay, it wasn't actually a dummy, it was just a stump of wood the stuck out of the ground at a height of 8 feet with a radius of roughly 10 inches. Surrounding its outer shell was a crudely made cylindrical metal armor to protect it from Siris' more powerful attacks.

"This is pathetic," Siris sighed, "What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn't have said anything to them. I should have just sent Sonic to a nearby hospital instead."

He looked down at his wrists, staring at his gadgets. Over the years, he added improvements to them; increasing the wire length, the durability of the bracelets, even adding modifications for them to be used with multiple color powers. But those days were long gone. He hadn't even put them on ever since…

"Screw it," Siris sighed, "I never wanted to live forever anyways."

He turned around and approached the nearby pile of aluminum-

 **All people outside of North America and/or in the scientific community: IT'S ALUMINIUM!**

 **Me: This isn't a science experiment. Interrupt me again and swear to God I will destroy the world. I will raze the buildings and salt the Earth. Just look at the two shallow graves back there.**

 ***HERE LIE SONIC AND KNUCKLES, THE IDIOT DEAD JOKERS***

 **Tails: Uh, those are just-**

 **Me: Shhhhh! Shshshshshhhhh… don't ruin the fun.**

… nearby pile of ALUMINUM cans and glass bottles that was on placed on a plastic trash bag. Siris was a proponent of recycling, so it was very convenient to have a bin full of these items. A picked up a couple of bottles and cans and headed towards an old wooden table that the previous owner of the property had left behind. It didn't really see much use in the recent years, other than Siris occasionally sitting down in the chair, or lying on the table, and staring into the distance, or the sky, or his finger that would draw imaginary circles on the wooden surface. Now it was being used to hold a line of bottles and cans in place, as though it was a shoot gallery. Only instead of a gun, Siris was going to use his grapples.

"Alright… that should be enough for this first trial."

Siris walked away until he was about 20 or so feet away from the table and dummy.

"Hmm… which should I try first?" he pondered, "I guess the bottles and cans first, I suppose."

He turned to face the targets and got into a fighting stance as he put on his goggles. He didn't know why, but it felt… strange to be training again. Giving himself a soft chuckle, Siris whipped out his right wrist and shot the wire out to his side. Once about 10 feet of wire was out, the wire sent taut and Siris grabbed the wire before it could retract back in. Siris nervously looked at the coiled wire on the ground.

"I'm gonna lose an eye doing this again," he muttered, "Well, might as well get started. Only got two weeks before my promise becomes a reality."

Taking a deep breath, Siris lightly whipped the wire a couple of times, getting back into the feel of using a whip again.

"I hope the others are doing okay."

 **{ Knuckles and Rouge }**

 **BOSS: D3-V11 "Devil" Attack Robot**

 **[ How it Started (Ifrit Golem) – Sonic and the Secret Rings Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00) (Believe it or not, you might have to loop it once… yeah, this one's gonna be a long battle)

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!" bellowed the Devil, raising its right fist into the air as Knuckles and Rouge prepared for attack. The Devil looks upon the heroes with burning rage in its eyes and slammed its fist into the ground. Knuckles and Rouge charged at the enemy jumping over the shockwave and go for the fist.

 **{ Siris }**

Summoning the Spikes color power, Siris began running towards the containers. As he got closer, Siris whipped his arm in a couple of directions in order to control where the attack will land. True to his mark, the end of the wire snapped against a glass bottle and shattered it into hundreds of tiny fragments. The wire's end fell to the ground as Siris leapt into the air, over the table, and performed a spin dash. The wire flew to life as the end traveled around the spinning Mobian before colliding with a soda can.

 **{ Knuckles and Rouge }**

The duo punched and kicked at every metal surface on the hand they could reach as the Devil recovered from the recoil that stunned it when it slammed its hand. Pieces of metal started cracking and chipping off as the Devil pulled its hand back and launched it forward for a backhand swipe. Rouge flew up into the air while Knuckles dug into the rocky terrain; both dodging the attack. Rouge launched herself straight into the robot's face; Screw Kicking it right between the eyes.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

The shockwave from the roar of pain alone was strong enough to send Rouge tumbling through the air and back to solid ground. She landed on her back, hurting her wings, but she backflipped into the air and landed on her feet. She looked up at the machine with an irritated look.

 **{ Siris }**

Siris landed on the ground past the table and spun around 180 degrees, whipping his arm and wire around his body. As the wire danced around him, like a dancer with a ribbon, Siris snapped his arm the other direction, sending the wire around the opposite direction. It seemed as though the wire was going to collide with the remaining bottles and cans on the table; a few quick and precise hand movements and techniques changed that. Instead of hitting everything, Siris made the wire avoid the first two items, snap against the can, avoid the next item, shatter the two glass bottles next, go around the next item, and landing on another can. The can launched 25 feet into the air. Siris launched himself after it; sending his whip to make another connection with it.

 **{ Knuckles and Rouge }**

The Devil and Rouge stared at each other, both unaware that Knuckles had erupted from the ground behind the robot and was flying toward its back. Knuckles was surprised to see what looked like a giant containment dome on the robots back. He started to figure that if there was any place that could house the power source for the robot, it would be there. Shooting towards the center of the dome, Knuckles began spinning vertically along his body and Drill Clawed, literally, now that he was wearing his Shovel Claws, into the container. Sensors indicated to the Devil that the storage unit on its back was taking damage.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Suddenly, Knuckles was surrounded by flames jetting out of small pipes the lined around the entire unit. Before they reached him, Knuckles glided off the unit. Unfortunately, he underestimated the speed of the robot due to its large size; the Devil spun around in the lava pool with blinding speed, grabbing Knuckles in its right hand. Rouge gasped and charged forward in an attempt to rescue the echidna. Knuckles' hands were free, but his punches seemed to do little to affect the Devil, albeit damaging the index finger and thumb. It brought Knuckles close to its face; revealing the flames coming from its mouth. He struggled harder to break free from his captor's grasp. Rouge flew into the air and flew toward the containment unit. A single Screw Kick sent pain throughout the Devil.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Like Knuckles, flames began to fire at Rouge, but she had already flown away when she hit the Devil's unit. As for Knuckles, the Devil loosened its grip and Knuckles escaped.

 **{ Siris }**

Concentrating hard, Siris' sense heightened, and time appeared to slow down around him. Launching his spiked whip toward the can, Siris made subtle and jerky hand maneuvers that performed a powerful attack. Instead of hitting the can, the tip of the wire went to the side of the can. The hand movements commanded the wire to then loop around the can before the wire appeared to be randomly encircling the can. With a single yank, a random segment of the wire snapped at the can. A millisecond later, another segment did the same. The process repeated dozens of time before Siris' senses calmed down. The moment time was moving normal to him, a bunch of pink spikes appeared from within the can before disappearing. Siris flipped a couple of times in the air before landing on the ground with style. When he heard a metallic clink behind him, Siris turned around and smiled. The can was now a coiled sheet of metal, looking like an apple or potato peeled off in one piece. He then turned his attention to the "dummy" as he retracted the wire.

 **{ Knuckles and Rouge }**

Launching off the robot's hand, Knuckles sent a fist directly in the same spot Rouge had damaged the Devil earlier.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Knuckles had embedded his Shovel Claw into the Devil's face, preventing him from being launched away. As the bellowing died down, Knuckles proceeded to whale at its face. Each blow to the face created more and more cracks along it and metal began to fall off in pieces. Rouge made another pass for the containment unit. Unfortunately, the Devil planned ahead and designated some power to its sensors, one of them being its radar, which sensed Rouge's position. Spinning into another Screw Kick, Rouge didn't notice the flames encasing the containment unit until she impacted the case. Screaming in pain, she stomped off the unit, and crashed into the ground. Her scream distracted Knuckles for just a second, but it was enough time for the Devil to grab him again and yank him off its face. Lying on her side, Rouge rolled over and began to push herself off the ground. That last attack got her pretty good; she had a couple of singed patches on her and a cut across her cheek, but she was sore all over. She looked up at the Devil and gasped in horror as she watched the Devil bring it hand toward the lava pool; the same hand that was holding Knuckles.

 **{ Siris }**

Siris glared at the dummy. His mind began to toy with him again as the wooden object began to warp into the figure of Julian Robotnik; he was laughing at Siris. Rage filled his soul; Siris flicked out his wrists, shooting out a foot long straight and taut wire from each bracelet. Muttering something under his breath, the two wires then formed into cyan colored blades with darker blue colored flames engulfing them; blades positioned like unsheathed assassin daggers from his wrist. Siris dashed toward Julian with a speed he had only accomplished once in his life without some form of aid. Siris slashed in every direction through the mirage; his hatred growing with each swipe. A fire that he hadn't felt in over two years reignited. A bright blue light began to shine from the rims of Siris' goggles before slowly changing to a more blueish-purple.

 **{ Knuckles and Rouge }**

 **(Lower the volume so it's somewhat faint but can make out the lyrics)**

Rouge could do nothing but watch as Knuckles disappeared below the ridge that led to the pool of lava. As lava splashed up from the impact, it froze in place. To Rouge, all of time and space had stopped, as though she had just used Chaos Control. But this wasn't the effects of Chaos Control, much to Rouge's dismay. If she wasn't already on her hands and knees, she would have done so now. Whispering Knuckles' name, she hung her head in defeat. What was the point of going on? Siris' remark from last night echoed in her mind; he was right, she had… did have feelings for the echidna. Even now, after he had somewhat broken her heart back on the plane, Rouge still had feelings for him. And now he was gone.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

As the Devil roared in its victory over the Master Emerald guardian, something sparked in Rouge. She had never been one to show pure rage and hatred, but now she was. Her chest heaved as she got up to her feet. She glared up at the robot with tears pouring down her face. Determined to finish what they had started, Rouge pulled out her Treasure Scope; placing it below her right ear as glided over the ground at high speeds, pushing the limits of her wounded wings. The Devil opened its mouth and unleashed a miasma of red flames toward her. Using her Iron Pick heels, she spun her body and dug into the ground, dodging the oncoming attack. The Devil ended its attack, wondering where the bat had disappeared to. There was no sign of her ashes, or charred body, so it was clear to the robot that she was still alive. Where she was hiding was a different story. Suddenly, another pain coursed through the robot's body.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Rouge spun as fast as she could, relentlessly drilling her feet into the murderous robot's containment unit. The Devil was unaware that Rouge used her Scope to traverse the underground and attack from behind, undetected. She managed to stun the Devil, which was why wasn't engulfed in flames at the moment. Even if it had, she didn't care. Rouge was going to finish this monster off, even if was the last thing she ever did. Her mind raced of memories of her time with Knuckles.

 _Their first meeting in the desert region when she tried to steal the Master Emerald._

 _Their friendly conversation after Shadow's sacrifice, on the Space Colony ARK._

 _Teasing him after Team Sonic defeated Metal Overlord._

 _Sonic's birthday party, before and after the Time Eater's defeat._

 _Working together when fighting against Eggman and Infinite._

 _The numerous times she tried the steal the Master Emerald over the years._

Tears kept pouring out of her eyes. Sparks were flying all around her and she was not about to stop. Even if her Scope told her there was a presence of…

 ***CRA-ACK***

Before she could react, the Devil leaned forward a few feet and slammed its back into Rouge. She landed on the ground with loud thud. She tried to pick herself back up, but dizziness and fatigue was overwhelming her. Even with all her might and will, Rouge's head fell to the ground, unconscious. The Devil turned to its next victim. It wrapped its left hand around its right fist and slowly raised it over its head.

 ***CR-CR-CR-A-AA-ACK***

Red fire burned around the Devil's hands as it powered up to finish off the nuisance, permanently.

 ***CRACK CRA-ACK***

Rouge's eyes opened a crack. She watched as the robot began to bring the hands down on top of her. She cursed herself for failing, but at the same time she was pleased; she was going to see Knuckles again sooner than she thought. The moment came as the hands slammed down on top of her. Rouge closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

 ***WHAM***

But fate had other plans. Rouge was certain that she was about to die, if not dead already. No, she must be dead. She opened her eyes to prove it to herself; how else would she hear the familiar sounds of the echidna that she had close feelings for? And there he was. Standing over her…

…

…

Rouge gasped. Standing over her was Knuckles the Echidna; pushing back against the strength of the robot using his own and holding his ground. His arms were straining, but Knuckles kept fighting, undeterred. Rouge whispered his name and he responded with a glance back and a smirk. Rouge tried to get back up, but her body refused her command. She looked down and noticed that Knuckles' feet were beginning to slid back, inch by inch. The strain was becoming too much for Knuckles; she could tell because he was now down on one knee, still fighting.

"Rouge?" Knuckles said, trying to keep his strength up.

"Yes?"

…

…

"I'm sorry… for saying I shouldn't have helped you."

"Huh?"

"On the plane. I knew what I said was harsh… urgh… I was just… angry at Mecha Sonic and I took it out on you. I'm sorry."

Rouge smiled.

"And I'm sorry for being stubborn with you."

Knuckles skid back another couple of inches. His arms were about to give out.

"Hey, Rouge?"

"Yeah?"

"If we die… heh, who am I kidding… I just wanted to tell you…"

Rouge's eyes began to open more.

"I… I want you to know that…"

Knuckles sighed.

"I-"

 ***WHAM***

"Huh?"

"Huh?"

Knuckles felt a sudden relief come over his body as he pushed the Devils hands away from them.

"Hey, you two!" a voice called from atop the robot's head.

Knuckles was surprised, Rouge more so, to see Vector pulling his fists out of the indentation he made in the Devil's head.

"Looks like you could use a break!"

"Vector!?" the two exhausted Mobians shouted.

"He's not the only one!"

Knuckles and Rouge turned and saw Espio, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray rushing over to their side.

"Need a hand?" Mighty asked Knuckles, offering him a hand.

Knuckles gave his old friend a smile and nodded, grasping Mighty's hand as he was helped up to his feet. Espio helped Rouge up to her's.

"What are you guys doing here?" Knuckles and Rouge asked at the same time.

"INCOMING!" Vector shouted.

The six heroes turned in time to see the Devil's left hand swiping at them and jump out of the way. Vector leapt off the Devil's head and descended toward the others using a bubble he blew out of bubblegum. How the hell he defied the laws of physics doing this, no one will ever know. **No, seriously, not even Tails has wrapped his head around it.**

"Does this burning metal freak have any weaknesses?" he asked when he landed on the ground.

"Aside from just constantly attacking it, no," Rouge replied, "But I did find- DUCK!"

Everyone hit the deck as the robot's right hand took swipe at them.

"Argh, this is really starting to get annoying," Knuckles muttered as he hopped to his feet, "We need to come up with a plan. Preferably without getting interrupted."

"I've got the perfect distractions!" Vector exclaimed, "Charmy, Ray. Think you two can keep that thing busy?"

The two smirked at each other.

"Leave it to us," they answered.

Charmy carried Ray up a few feet before heaving him away, giving the flying squirrel the momentum needed to glide into the air. The two made their way over to the Devil's face and they each kicked one of its eyes.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Charmy and Ray flew off the Devil's face and, excuse me for lack of better term, continued to bug the hell out of the robot. As they flew around the Devil and dodged its attacks, the remaining Mobians began to formulate a plan.

"So, what were saying before, Rouge?" Vector asked.

"Well, during my last attack, I was scanning the machine for any weaknesses in its armor or sources of power within. I'm still shocked to see this, even though it makes total sense, but…"

"But, what?" asked Knuckles.

"That containment unit is holding red Wisps."

An awkward silence fell among the group. No one said a word for nearly 15 seconds.

"Uh, guys!?" Charmy shouted, "Any day now!"

The gang snapped out of it.

"Uh, right," said Vector, "So…"

"How do we save the Wisps?" Mighty asked.

"Hmph. I was about the ask that," Vector mumbled quietly.

"Knuckles and I have already done some damage to that storage unit on the robot's back," Rouge explained, pointing to the unit in question, "If we keep attacking it, we should be able to get it open and free the Wisps."

"And without those Wisps, the robot should have no power," Knuckles pieced together.

"Well," said Vector, "it's better than just whaling it away."

"How do we proceed with this plan?" asked Espio.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!"

The five turned and watched as Charmy and Ray rocketed to the ground and were knocked unconscious.

"Maybe just whaling at it is the best course at the moment," Mighty suggested before rushing over to his downed friends.

As the Devil rammed both its fists into the ground where Charmy and Ray were lying, Mighty was pulling them away from the danger.

"Mighty's right," said Knuckles, "We don't know what will happen to those Wisps if we just wait. So we'll just attack with everything we've got."

Everyone nodded.

"Then, let's get started," said Espio as he disappeared from sight.

 **(Raise volume back to normal level)**

Knuckles, Rouge, and Vector rushed toward the Devil as it turned its attention away from Mighty.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Undeterred by the robot's bellow, our heroes kept up the pace. Absorbing more energy from the Red Wisps, the Devil raised its right hand over its head as red flames began to dance around its fingers. With blinding speed, the hand was slammed into the ground and unleashed a shockwave of Chaos energy and fire. Knuckles and Rouge flew up into the air while Vector leapt over the energy wave. He landed on the Devil's hand and made his way up its arm.

"Knuckles! Rouge!" he called out, "You two get those Wisps out! Espio and I will cover you!"

"Got it!" Knuckles replied as he and Rouge navigated toward the Devil's back.

As he ran along the robot's right arm, the Devil's left hand came rushing over to grab or knock Vector off. The hand hadn't even covered half the ground before a kunai came flying out of nowhere and impaled the robot's left eye.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Espio revealed himself upon the left hand of the Devil before disappearing again.

"Good work, Espio!" Vector called out.

Once he reached the robot's shoulder, Vector hopped aboard the Devil's face and started punching every inch of it. The robot attempted to attack Vector again.

"Uh oh," Vector muttered as he scrambled up the Devil's face.

Another kunai was lodged into the robot's other eye.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

Espio smirked to himself; it was quite an impressive throwing distance from the ground all the way to the Devil's eye.

Meanwhile, Knuckles and Rouge were busying destroying the containment unit, punching and kicking with all the strength they had left. Which was still a lot.

 ***CRACK***

 ***CRA-A-ACK***

"What is this thing made of!?" Knuckles asked, "It looks like metal, but acting as if it's glass!"

"Who cares!? Just keep attacking it!" Rouge commanded.

 _Inside the Devil…_

"WARNING: Damage Levels Critical. Systems Failing. Wisp Containment Hull Integrity At 30% And Falling. Hull Breach Imminent. Evacuation Recommended."

"Hmph," the pilot grunted over the computer's warnings, "Guess it's time to move to Plan B."

 _Outside the Devil…_

"GOT IT!" the duo shouted as the barrier preventing the Wisps' freedom shattered.

Dozens upon dozens of red Wisps started shooting out from the opening. Knuckles and Rouge floated in the air and watched the escape before them. With no power source left, the Devil no longer had the ability to use any of its flame powers, but it still had a Chaos Emerald.

"RRRRAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"Oh, SHUT UP!" Knuckle screamed as he Drill Clawed straight through the Devil's head.

The robot flinched a couple of times before all power drained from its systems and it fell to the ground. Knuckles and Rouge joined Vector and Espio as the four walked over to investigate the wreck. Mighty, who was protecting the sleeping Charmy and Ray the whole time, came running over to investigate as well. Everyone jumped when a hatch was busted open and smoke rose from the opening.

"Now what?" Knuckles muttered.

His answer came in the form of a dark crimson armored humanoid exiting the Devil husk with a red Chaos Emerald in their hand.

"Who is that?" Mighty asked.

The pilot **(whose armor basically looked like the Advanced Suit from Dead Space 2 but with much more armor plating, and I couldn't think of any other way to describe it)** glared at the group as they unleashed an energy blast so powerful it could have been mistaken as a Chaos Blast… wait, was that a Chaos Blast?!

"MOVE!" Rouge shouted, but it was too late.

The blast sent the five Mobians flying a couple dozen feet away and tumbled another 10 or so along the ground.

"Urrggh…" Knuckles groaned as he picked himself up, "You guys okay?"

"I'm fine," Rouge responded, "Vector? Espio?"

"Mighty? You guys... crap."

The three in question were lying unconscious on the ground.

"Awww, now it's back to how it was 10 minutes ago…"

Knuckles and Rouge turned to the pilot.

"… just you two against me," he continued.

The pilot's voice sounded very bizarre for a robot's, assuming it was one. It sounded as though someone using a voice scrambler for a robot's voice. Or was it the other way around?

"So…" the pilot said in a taunting voice as Knuckles and Rouge readied for another battle, "which of you should I kill first?"

The two noticed a small squad of very angry Red Wisps charging behind the pilot's back.

"Like that will happen," Knuckles smirked.

 ***WUMP***

They may be small, compared to the size of a human, but five angry Wisps can be a very painful experience. **(Both the aliens and Siris. *wink*)** The pilot landed face first into the ground; releasing the Chaos Emerald from his grasp. Before anyone could react, the pilot had recovered to his feet and grabbed one of the Red Wisps from the squad. The Wisp was forced into the pilot's body and fire erupted from his hands.

"Not… good," Rouge said in a nervous voice.

But Knuckles remained strong. He ran up to the pilot and punched him in the face.

 ***CLANG***

The pilot just laughed.

"Is that suppose to be a tickle?" he taunted before sending a flaming right fist into Knuckle's face.

 ***WUMP***

"AAaaarrrgggh!" Knuckles yelled as he was thrown back a few feet.

The pilot glanced over at Rouge, who was making a run for the Chaos Emerald. He formed a fireball in his right hand and threw it at the Emerald. The explosion sent the jewel flying away from the group. Rouge wiped the dust from her eyes. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw the pilot dashing through the air towards her, with a flaming fist targeting her. A quick parry with her heel deflected the attack and the two began to brawl. While she was able to defend herself, Rouge wasn't as much a fighter like Knuckles was; for every attack she did, she had four come at her.

"You defend yourself well, Agent," the pilot commented, "You know the end of the world is coming."

Another parry.

"Why bother trying to survive by fighting?"

Rouge dodged a fast combo before spin kicking at his face. He caught her boot with ease.

"You want to live. No one wants to die. Why don't you join us?"

Rouge glared at him.

"I can promise you no harm to come to you if you join our master."

"Well, here's my answer."

Rouge used her captured leg as leverage as she backflipped into the air and kicked right under the pilot's chin. At the same time, Knuckles charged from behind and slammed his well-equipped right fist into the pilot's back. As a finale to the combo, Rouge launched a Screw Kick into the pilot's helmet, causing it to crack.

"ENOUGH!" he roared, sending a blast of flames to erupt around him and sending the duo flying back and into the ground.

The amount of energy used forced the Red Wisp outside the pilot's body to be released; shaking the uncomfortable feeling off, the Wisps flew off to rejoin its fellow red Wisps, which were all watching the fight from above. They watched as the pilot marched over to Rouge, who was lying unconscious on the ground. Knuckles picked himself up from the ground and charged at the pilot.

 ***WUMP***

The pilot simply kicked the echidna away before he continued towards Rouge. Knuckles fought through the pain in his stomach, which had now been hit twice today, and launched toward his foe. This time, he was able to dodge the pilot's attack and landed two solid punches to his face.

 ***WUMP***

And was followed by another punch to the face, sending Knuckles flying again. But the stubborn echidna wasn't about to throw in the towel; he got back up and charged the pilot again. Instead of an attack, Knuckles was met with a hand wrapped around his throat and being slammed into the ground. The pilot then started beating Knuckles to a pulp; his fists flying at a sickening speed.

"This time, echidna," the pilot hissed, "you will die."

Rouge stirred and looked up from the ground.

"Knuckles…" she groaned.

She reached out a hand, but she collapsed back to the ground.

"Someone…"

…

"Please…"

…

"Save him."

Her prayer was answered as the pilot went for the killing blow; a flash of red entered Knuckles and a burst of fire erupted; the force blowing the pilot off the echidna.

"What is this?" he demanded in question form.

The sudden rush of Hyper-go-on energy fueled Knuckles' spirit. Around the vicinity, everyone was waking up; they all watched in awe as Knuckles stood up, with a red aura surrounding him. He and the pilot glared at each other.

"You still think you can take me?" the pilot asked, "Pfft. I guess I'll have to teach you a harsher lesson."

Knuckles didn't respond. Instead, he held out his fists in front of him before whipping them to the side of his body. As he did, his fists erupted in a blend of yellow, orange, and red flames. A moment later, the two lunged at each other. The pilot was certain that this would change nothing, as he was able to keep his enhancements from the captured Wisp, albeit the fire ability. And let me tell you…

 ***CRA-ACK***

… Oh, boy, was he _wrong_. Knuckles managed to land his attack first, giving the pilot's helmet a solid blow in the center. The pilot instantly recovered and the two went at it. Unlike Rouge, Knuckles was not only able to block or dodge every single attack his way, he was also able to counter every single one with a blow to the pilot's body. Every time Knuckles landed another hit to the helmet, it became more and more degraded.

"NO MORE!" the pilot screamed as he produced a blade from his right wrist and thrusted it towards Knuckles.

With solid grip, Knuckles grabbed the pilot's left wrist and stared into the enemy's eyes.

"You're right. No more," he said dryly as he crushed the pilot's wrist and sent one last punch from his right hand into his face.

The front of the helmet shattered as the pilot spun through the air and landed to the ground.

 **(Music fades)**

Knuckles relaxed his hands and he walked over to the pilot, who was now face down on the ground. He pushed it over and saw the pilot's face for the first time.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" he screamed, jumping back in fear.

The others rushed over to see what Knuckles was so freaked out over. They were horrified by the answer.

"What… what kind of sick joke is this?" Rouge asked.

If he were capable of doing so, the pilot would have grinned an evil smile. But he couldn't; behind the armor were human remains.

…

…

…

Yes, you read that right: _HUMAN REMAINS_. A decayed human body that was nothing but a dried blood-stained skeleton with… Umm… yeah, you probably get the picture. But you don't; because the pilot's eyes were glowing a deep red, thanks to the electric components within his skull. And that's just his skull. The pilot laughed in their faces.

"What's wrong, fools? Scared?" he taunted.

No one even dared to respond. Although the pilot was far too damaged to attack anymore, the disturbing sight itself froze them in place. Even the onlooking Wisps were terrified by this revelation. The pilot's laughs continued for what felt like an eternity. Finally, Rouge broke the group's silence.

"Who… or what are you? Where's this 'lord' of yours?"

The pilot stopped laughing as his eyes darted in her direction.

"Oh, Agent Rouge… you should have brought your partners here to interrogate me instead. They'd have a much better chance at getting something out of me…"

He leaned his head forward a bit.

"… other than just information," he added, as a tiny piece of rotten flesh fell from under his chin.

Knuckles, though still disgusted, grabbed the pilot by the chest piece with both hands and lifted him to look at him at eye height.

"This isn't some freaky dark circus performance, you sicko!" Knuckles shouted. **(I have nothing against circuses or freak shows, but this is some serious ****).**

"Tell us where your leader is!"

"Ha… Hmm… Fine… you want to know where? Come close."

The group got closer.

"You won't find him in Hell," the pilot whispered.

"What?" they replied.

 ***BEEP***

 ***BEEP***

 ***BEEP***

"What the!?"

Knuckles realized what was going on.

"That's right, you fools. I'm taking you all out with me. And there's nothing you can do!"

 ***BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP***

"FAREWELL, 'HEROES'!"

In that instant, the red Wisp within Knuckles shot out of his body and entered the pilot's. Wasting no time, he began to burn at a temperature increasing so fast that no other Red Wisp had ever reached such high temperatures before and lived. He didn't care. He wasn't about to let these strangers die, after they saved him and his fellow Wisps. Consciousness was fading, but he kept going. Every second to him was a millisecond to the world. The armor was now glowing and melting; pieces were beginning to fuse together. The last thing that the red Wisp did before he died was ask the powers above one favor.

" _Tell him… I'm sorry. And that I love him very much."_

 **{ Siris }**

Siris stood over the splintered remains of the wooden dummy. His chest heaved as he wiped the sweat from his face; it had been a long time since he let loose like that. Suddenly, he felt a pang shoot through his heart. He hadn't felt anything like this in a couple of years. It felt as though he had just learned someone has passed away. Siris closed his eyes.

" _Tell him… I'm sorry. And that I love him."_

Siris' eyes shot open. He recognized that voice, even if was just a bunch of garbled noises. Tears began to fall down his cheeks.

"Flames…"

 **{ Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix }**

Before the Mobians could react, the pilot before them flew back a few feet and fell back against the ground; an explosion of flames erupted from his head as though it was a shuttle thruster.

"NO!" Knuckles screamed, realizing the Wisp was the one causing it.

"Knuckles, don't!" Rouge screamed as she grabbed the echidna by the waist and held him back from the convulsing body.

"Rouge let me go! The Wisp-"

"It's too late!"

"ROUGE!"

Knuckles slipped and fell to the ground but continued to resist; using his Shovel Claws to try and claw his way to the burning corpse. Still, Rouge wouldn't let go. The Chaotix watched in horror and disbelief as the scene before them continued. A few agonizing seconds later, the flames died out. Knuckles finally stopped struggling.

"No…" he whispered as he stood back up.

Rouge finally released the echidna, letting him lumber over to the pile of ash before them. Standing over it, Knuckles hung his head.

"Knuckles?" Rouge called out.

He didn't even move. Rouge walked to his side. She went to put her left hand into his right. Before she could, Knuckles collapsed to his knees and slammed his fists into the ground in anger.

"DAMN IT!" he yelled.

Rouge knelt down to Knuckles, placing hand on his shoulder.

"Knuckles… there was nothing we could have done. That Wisp saved our lives," she explained.

Knuckles shook his head.

"She's right, Knuckles," said Espio, "That creature gave us another chance to continue our work to stop this new evil."

Charmy flew over to Knuckles' side.

"Yeah, what Espio said. Come on, Knuckles! I know what happened… sucks. And was scary. B-but, we can't stop now!" he exclaimed.

Knuckles kept shaking his head. Charmy frowned. Then, he remembered something. He flew off and came back in few seconds.

"Knuckles, look!" said Charmy, presenting something to him, "It's the Chaos Emerald!"

Knuckles' eyes glanced over to the red Emerald.

"Look at the bright side! We still won… and we got another Chaos Emerald!"

Knuckles gave Charmy a look.

"You suck at these kinds of things, you know that?" Knuckles chuckled as he took the Chaos Emerald from the bee.

"Well… I try."

Knuckles started laughing a bit more, with everyone joining him. Soon, their laughs quieted down. Knuckles sighed in grief. He didn't look back up until he heard some garbled gibberish from nearby.

"Huh?"

He looked up and saw three red Wisps floating over the smoking ashes of the pilot and their brave friend. A gloomy look was washed over their faces. One of them turned to Knuckles and floated to him. They didn't say anything, but they wordlessly expressed each other's grief. All said and done, the three aliens flew back to their brethren and they all flew away. The heroes watched them until the red masses disappeared into the distance. Knuckles sighed.

"What evil?" he asked.

"What?" the others asked.

"What evil were you talking about Espio?"

The chameleon was confused.

"No one told you?" he asked.

"Well-"

"He forgot his communicator," Ray interrupted.

He walked over to Knuckles and pulled out the wrist communicator from his inventory.

"Here," said Ray, handing it over to Knuckles, "Tails said you left it at the hotel back in Blue Moon Village."

Knuckles scratched his head.

"That's not mine."

Ray turned to Mighty for confirmation, but he just shrugged.

"Uh… Tails told us it's yours," Ray explained as he turned back to Knuckles, "Take it."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and showed everyone a device that was hidden beneath his right glove.

"See?" he asked, "Told you it's not mine."

Rouge, Mighty, and Ray all looked at each other, completely befuddled.

"Is something wrong?" Vector asked.

"Yeah," Rouge replied, "Tails said he found Knuckles' communicator in their hotel room before Knuckles left Blue Moon Village. The next day, Mighty and Ray- wait a minute…"

She turned to Vector.

"I thought you guys told me you found a Chaos Emerald in one of Eggman's old bases."

"What!?" yelled Vector, "I never said that!"

Rouge eyed him suspiciously.

"You sure? The one in the Mystic Ruins?"

Vector looked at Espio and Charmy for support. The ninja turned to Rouge.

"I searched the Mystic Ruins already," he explained, "There's no Emerald there."

Rouge's eyes widened as she brought her communicator up.

"Uh, Knuckles?"

"Ray, I'm telling you, that's not-"

"There are like eight missed calls and three unread messages on here."

Knuckles groaned.

"Let me see," he said, snatching the communicator from Ray's hands.

It took Knuckles only two seconds to realize that it was indeed his communicator.

"Well?" Ray asked.

"It… it _is_ my communicator," Knuckles said in disbelief as he swapped the devices.

"But if we had yours… then whose did you have?" Mighty asked.

"I have no clue."

Knuckles' eyes noticed something, or rather what he didn't notice, that concerned him.

"Where's Mecha Sonic?"

The robot was nowhere to be found.

"We've got bigger problems," Rouge said nervously.

Everyone turned to her.

"I can't reach Shadow or Omega."

* * *

 _Eggman's Former Base in the Mystic Ruins_

Shadow stood in a large room at the bottom level of the base; dimly lit by cyan lights. He was certain something was here, but it wasn't a Chaos Emerald. Only a handful of people would understand why Shadow might be feeling a bit uneasy with the current situation. He silently hoped Omega was on his way, let alone still alive.

 _15 Minutes Ago…_

The black hedgehog and his robot partner arrived at the abandoned hidden Eggman base. Although neither were around during that time, they did learn of how Eggman shattered the Master Emerald to awaken and command a power creature called Chaos, the God of Destruction. Between the stories from Sonic and the others to all the files relating to Chaos in G.U.N., there were still a handful of unanswered questions. Shadow couldn't care less, but Omega was more curious to find answers.

"Omega, is this the place?"

"Confirmed. This is the Eggman base we were informed of."

Shadow walked up to the door, but they wouldn't open.

"Omega, get these doors open."

"Affirmative."

 ***CREEEAAKK*  
**

"Good work, Omega."

Shadow entered through the doors; Omega followed close behind.

 **[ Mechanical Resonance… for Final… Nah, I'm just messing with ya. Sorry, maybe some other time ]**

 **[ Dark Ambient Music Mix ]** (Uploaded by Cryo Chamber) (0:00)

After running across a ridiculous, and unnecessarily, long covered bridge, the two entered the base. It was dark, with only the emergency lights barely even illuminating the room. They began to cautiously walk around. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. Had it been anyone else there, and they weren't a psychopath, they would have admitted an uncomfortable feeling in the air.

"Omega, any sign of those Chaotix members?"

"… Negative. No life signs detected."

"Hmm…"

As they walked, they noticed a holding unit that had been broken into… or something broke out, by the looks of the glass on the ground. A few more feet further, Shadow realized Omega's footsteps were no longer heard. He stopped and turned to see Omega staring at some sort of device. To Shadow, it appeared to be something used to build…

"Omega?"

It took a moment before the robot turned to face Shadow.

"Are you alright?"

"No malfunctions detected, Shadow. We may proceed."

Shadow crossed his arms.

"This is the place, am I correct in saying?"

"Specify your inquiry."

"This was were the first group of E-100 series robots were built."

It was more of a statement rather than a question, but it made no difference to Omega.

"Correct."

…

"Attention: data port detected. I can access data files from the data port and transfer them to G.U.N. Headquarters."

Shadow sighed. He knew that Omega had an ulterior motive; to continue improving himself so he could truly become the most powerful E-series robot ever. And what better place to find information on the first set of those robots but here. G.U.N. had never put this location a high priority data collecting site, so now was the best opportunity. Plus, if might hold some key information to help end the evil that was coming before it even arrived.

"Very well, Omega. I'll scout ahead. Stay in close contact."

With that, Shadow skated off toward the Final Egg Facility. Look, what's an Eggman base without some sort of reference to that giant ball of scrap Sonic keeps blowing up in space every so often?

"E-series… brothers…"

Omega looked over, back in the direction Shadow was standing. Something wasn't right. Omega remembered someone, most likely Sonic or Amy, mentioning that Metal Sonic was in the second holding unit in this room. However, the unit was intact. Prioritizing the problem for a later time to be solved, Omega began to hack into the bases data storage.

"What a strange way to design a base," Shadow muttered as he glided along the ground (metaphorically).

His mind was still going back to Omega. While he did care to some degree for the robot, to Shadow it was always about keeping his promise to Maria; protecting the world and giving people a reason to be happy. Well, mostly the protecting the world part, he was indifferent about others' happiness.

" _Why is Omega trying so hard to be the best when he already is? Hell, he might be the most powerful thing on the planet, next to me and Faker. After all, it was Omega who-"_

Shadow's train of thought was interrupted by the sight of a huge machine lying in the middle of a large room.

"Huh?"

He hadn't noticed how far, or how long, he had been descending through the base. He was now standing on the lowest level possible of the base.

"Hmm…" Shadow pondered, looking at the old machine, "That must be the remains of the Egg Viper."

Upon closer inspection, Shadow confirmed that it was indeed the remains of the Egg Viper. Standing before the pile of metal, Shadow crossed his arms and looked at it.

"Faker had trouble with _this?_ Pathetic," he muttered.

 _Meanwhile, back at the top level…_

Omega had completed the data retrieval and proceeded to catch up to Shadow.

"Data retrieval complete. Alert: Data transfer unavailable. Signal blocked. Scanning for possible sources of interference."

…

"No sources detected."

Omega looked around for a moment. Although he was all alone, he began to wonder why the Chaotix were not here.

"Scanning for Emerald energy signatures."

…

"Scans complete. No energy signatures found."

They were alone. The Chaotix were not here, there were no signs of any of the three emerald types they were searching for. Something was wrong. Suddenly, to confirm his suspicions, Omega briefly sensed an intruder infiltrating through the base. A few seconds later, they were deeper into the base. Another ping showed they were closing in on Shadow. Omega activated his thrusters and raced off to find Shadow.

 _Back at the Egg Viper's final resting place…_

Shadow always wondered if this day would possibly come. And to his annoyance, it had. Eyes closed, and arms crossed, he spoke into the darkness.

"So, it was you who sent Rouge that message, wasn't it?"

No reply.

"If you think staying silent will fool me, then you are sadly mistaken."

Silence. Nothing but silence. Until a dark voice began to laugh.

"I'm surprised you've managed to feel my presence," said a voice from the darkness, "It has been many years since anyone has done so."

" _That voice…"_

"You're not fooling me," Shadow remarked as he turned to face the darkness, "Come out and reveal yourself."

From the shadows, a pair of green eyes appeared; followed by pale looking figure lurching out of darkness. Shadow glared at individual.

" _It's him."_

"What's wrong? Have you forgotten about me, Shadow the Hedgehog?"

"I haven't. And you won't succeed this time."

The pale figure laughed.

"Oh, it has been too long, Shadow. You couldn't stop me before, even without your… restraints."

Shadow threateningly glared at the figure as he rubbed one of his Limiter Rings.

"Don't think I have forgotten about our last encounter, Shadow the Hedgehog. Because this time…"

All around the room, Shadow minions spawned, which all look like smaller versions of the pale figure.

"This time you will truly understand my name."

Shadow got into battle stance.

"You will know the true meaning of darkness. Why I am called MEPHILES THE DARK!"

 **(Music fades)**

* * *

 **Team Sonic: Who is Mephiles?**

 **Me: Uuuuhhhh…. I dunno.**

 **Knuckles: Is he some-**

 **Me: Wait… didn't I kill you and Sonic earlier and bury your bodies?**

 **Both: No…**

 **Me: *Rolls eyes* Whatever. Anyways, you guys can ask someone else that question. *Whispers* Readers, don't say anything to them.**

 **Sonic: Well, that should wrap it up for this chapter, right, Phantom?**

 **Me: Yes it does! Thanks for reading this chapter, hope you liked it. Please follow and favorite, but more importantly please… PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave a review. I haven't even gotten one review yet, and I'm hoping someone will give me some helpful criticism to be a better writer. Other than that, I'll see ya next time.**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **Holy flippin' bat turds, Batman. I was hoping to get this out LAST WEEK. But life had other plans. Next week, I have finals, followed by like five weeks of freedom. So maybe, MAYBE… I'll be able to push out two chapters during my winter break. MAYBE! No promises.**

 **Also, I had no clue this chapter would be this long. Jeez. Overall, I felt that it was good, but I might do some minor revisions and additions in the future. Not a rewrite, that would make me kill myself. But, who knows. I hope you guys have enjoyed this chapter. I'm hoping that I don't have to re-rate this AGAIN to M. If I do… well, prepare for disappointment, because I will refuse to write any lemon scenes in this story.**

 **All have a great time! Hope you come back for more. And I'd like to say to everyone: Have a Merry (Early) Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, and/or a Happy Holidays. And if you have a problem with any of those, then have a Happy Go F*** Yourself. See ya next time!**


	6. Chapter 6: Darkness Returns

**Me: Sup, bitches and balls!? Ready for an awesome fight between Shadow and Mephiles right off the bat?**

 **Shadow: *walks in* Explain again why I am here?**

 **Me: Because I don't want any crap from Sonic and Knuckles like last chapter.**

 **Shadow: … Why?**

 **Me: Have you not read the last chapter?**

 **Shadow: I don't read crap.**

 **Me: Fair enough. Long story short: they did a dumb-dumb. *mutters to self* And only five chapters into my first fanfic, too…**

 **Shadow: Again, why am I here?**

 **Me: Because Silver and Blaze couldn't make it.**

 **Tails: *Enters nervously* Uh, Phantom?**

 **Me: Yeah? What is it?**

 ***Tails points out the window***

 **Me: *Looks out window* WHERE'D THOSE TWO IDIOTS GO!?**

 **Tails: Should I start this chapter for you?**

 **Me: *Running* YES!**

 **Shadow: I'm leaving.**

 **Tails: Well, I hope I can do this story justice. Disclaimer: ThePhantomHedgehog only owns his characters. All characters, songs, and videos belong to their respected owners.**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **Wow, only five chapters in, and I've reached 100k words. Cool. Also, over 350 views (as of writing), and not one review yet? Guys… come on… I know I'm wasting my time writing this story, the least I ask is for someone to tell me how crappy this whole garbage is.**

 **Anyways, starting now, I'm gonna switch from using FFN's "insert line" to using " *~*~*~*~*~* ". The line is fine on mobile, but I wanted something a bit fancier. Whenever I get around to it (or feel like it), I'll revise the previous chapters.**

 **Also, spoiler alert, this chapter is heavily focused on Silver and Blaze. Don't worry, I've got some exciting news… okay, not really exciting, but good news for you at the end of the chapter!**

 **Enjoy!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

Chapter 6: Darkness Returns

 _Mystic Ruins: Eggman's Base_

 **[ Dark Ambient Music Mix ]** (Uploaded by Cryo Chamber) (0:00)

Hundreds of Shadow minions were surrounding Shadow as he and Mephiles stared menacingly at each other.

"I must say, Shadow," Mephiles said in a dark voice, "I'm quite surprised that you remember me."

Shadow remained silent as he waited for Mephiles to make the first move.

"After you and those two mortals defeated Solaris and extinguished the Flame, Solaris… and by extension, Iblis and myself, should have never existed," Mephiles continued, "I must remember to thank that one known as Eggman for my… return… when I see him again."

"What are you talking about?" asked Shadow, "And what do you mean 'again'? Where's the doctor?"

Mephiles laughed.

"Oh, don't be so obscure, Shadow. You should know," he explained, "Where and when have you traveled through time and space once again?"

Shadow's eyes widened.

"The Time Eater…" he breathed.

If Mephiles had a mouth **(and thank God and Chaos he doesn't)** , he would have grinned a terrifying smile.

"Yes."

Shadow glared at his pale doppelganger.

"So, Solaris does exist in other dimensions," Shadow said before smirking, "I'm guessing that world's Sonic has defeated you in all those dimensions as well."

"Not quite."

"Huh?"

Mephiles snapped his fingers. Black flames erupted from the ground a few feet from Shadow. He saw an image appear inside; it appeared to be orbs containing different galaxies.

"Allow me to educate you a little, Shadow."

Shadow shot a quick glance at Mephiles before looking back into the flames.

"It is true that the Flames of Solaris exist in every dimension, reality, or universe; whichever you prefer; however, there has only ever been one Iblis… and one Mephiles."

Shadow remained silent as Mephiles continued.

"I assume you remember the Duke of Soleanna attempting to manipulate time with Solaris by using the Flames? In every universe, that Duke had also foolishly attempted the same. Every attempt ended in failure."

Mephiles' voice became more sadistic.

"Most ending in a slow and painful end to the Duke. Some even ended the life of his daughter."

"Why should I care about this?" Shadow questioned, occasionally glancing around him to make sure a minion wasn't trying anything funny.

"You were there… with that gray hedgehog. The two of you were the only ones to witness my birth. Iblis' as well. But you never witnessed our ends."

"You and Iblis were destroyed the moment the two of you were fused together to become Solaris. And after that, we destroyed Solaris."

"True. And this was the only world where we had done so."

"What do you mean?"

"In every other universe, there is no Mephiles. There is no Iblis."

Shadow wasn't following.

"If you only exist in this universe… then how are you even here when we defeated Solaris and altered the timeline?"

Mephiles laughed once more.

"For someone as powerful as yourself, you still can't see the answer, even when you've already answered it yourself."

" _Answered it myself? Wait…"_

"The Time Eater… the destroyed city!?" Shadow exclaimed.

"Precisely," Mephiles confirmed, "While not as powerful as Solaris, the Time Eater is capable of traveling through different timelines of the same world. And one of those timelines was the one where I was born."

"You say 'different timelines'," said Shadow, "I presume that's different than saying 'other universes'."

"Indeed. Hmm… think of it like this… imagine a line representing time and the events that occur in the linear fashion. At some point, Solaris was defeated, and the Flames ceased to exist. Logic would dictate that if a part of a timeline is reset, the entire beginning of time must reset as well. Like a butterfly effect."

"But that didn't happen."

"Correct again, Shadow. Imagine another line, one that is running parallel to the original time line. It has the same beginning of time as the first, but the Flames don't exist. When Solaris was defeated, the timeline restarted only at a recent point in time. The original timeline branched away from its original path and intersected with the second line. The Time Eater is capable of jumping across these timelines and bypass all branching moments in time."

Shadow started to piece everything together.

"Then the destroyed city we saw _was_ the same one we saw during the whole Soleanna incident?!"

"Correct again."

"But… why not join Iblis in that city, then?"

"Iblis is pure rage… hatred… an energy-based creature," Mephiles explained, "That said, Iblis prefers to be in a physical form rather than raw power and energy. In the destroyed city, he was in physical form. In order for me to fuse with Iblis, he must be in his energy form."

Mephiles glared at Shadow.

"And the only way for him to be in energy form is to be released from a vessel."

" _A vessel?"_ thought Shadow.

For every question answered, Shadow had five more.

"You say that as though Iblis is still alive," Shadow remarked, "If you plan to form Solaris once more, then you're wasting your time! The Duchess no longer houses Iblis within her!"

Mephiles laughed.

"That useless girl? Oh, Shadow… you know so little. Did Silver not explain anything to you?"

"What would he know that I already don't?"

"Why it's simple… he knows the one who currently houses Iblis."

Shadow raised a brow.

"Don't believe me?" Mephiles asked, "Ahh… no matter."

"Why are you here then? I have no knowledge of where Iblis is, assuming he even exists. And more importantly, why haven't you tried stealing the Chaos Emerald I have? You wouldn't have lured me here away from the others unless I had something you needed."

Mephiles smirked.

"I have a proposition for-"

"No."

Mephiles chuckled.

"No?"

"Don't try to deceive me again. Nothing you could offer would ever sway my allegiance."

Mephiles laughed.

"I see you indominable will hasn't changed either, Shadow," he said, "But what if I were to bring back those closest to you?"

Shadow made no reply.

"What if I told you that I could bring back your precious friend?"

Shadow's eyes widened a bit.

"Oh, yes… I know all about your past, Shadow the Hedgehog," Mephiles explained, "It's such a shame, really; you were created by Gerald Robotnik over 50 years ago, with the assistance of Black Doom, for the sole purpose of being what everyone dreams of becoming; powerful, immortal, immune to all diseases… The Ultimate Life Form."

Shadow slowly lowered his arms and stared out into space.

"You were created to save mankind… and the very people you were to protect betrayed you. Your friend was killed… Gerald was imprisoned and went insane… and you were locked away, unconscious, for over 50 years."

" _Maria…"_

"Join us, Shadow," said Mephiles as he offered out a hand, "Join us, and I will bring back what was wrongfully taken from you. I can promise you no harm to you or Maria."

Shadow turned to face his dark doppelganger.

"I will keep this promise, but only if you join us," said Mephiles.

Shadow closed his eyes and slightly lowered his head.

" _Shadow… I beg of you… please, do it for me… for a better future. For all the people on that planet… give them a chance to be happy… Let them live for their dreams… Shadow, I know you can do it… that's the reason why you were brought into this world…"_

" _Maria!"_

" _Sayonara… Shadow… the Hedgehog."_

Shadow took a deep breath and sighed.

"So… what is your choice, Shadow the Hedgehog?" Mephiles asked, "Will you fail to save everyone…? Or will you save your precious Maria?"

Shadow slowly opened his eyes and looked up; a burning rage could be seen in his eyes.

"I made a promise of my own," Shadow replied, "A promise I made to Maria. I intend to keep that promise!"

He readied himself for battle.

"And you have made the mistake of using Maria and Gerald Robotnik's names to try and persuade me," he threatened.

 **Me: I'm back~…**

 **Tails: Oh, perfect. Here, what do you think?**

 **Me: *breezing through the chapter* Ooohh… wow. So you basically made Mephiles the next Mudkip Captain, huh?**

 **Tails: I don't know who that is.**

 **Me: Uhh… don't ask. Where's Shadow?**

 **Tails: He left.**

 **Me: Shocking. Well, I'll take it from here, Tails. Thanks.**

Mephiles dropped his hand.

"Once again… it's a pity, Shadow the Hedgehog…"

The Shadow minions begin to converge onto Shadow's position.

"… truly a shame _you_ wish to go against _me_!"

Shadow glanced at the enemies around him.

"Even with that Chaos Emerald in your hands, you are still not strong enough to defeat _me_! Your power is limited… and removing those Rings of yours won't help you this time!"

"Wouldn't even dream of it," Shadow retorted, "Chaos... CONTROL!"

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

' _Lord's' Base_

Sitting upon his thrown, the Lord watched the ensuing fight between Shadow and Mephiles. Teleporting to each one, Shadow was decimating the Shadow minions as Mephiles simply watched from a distance; summoning more to replenish the numbers.

"It would seem that Shadow refused Mephiles' offer," the Lord muttered, "Shame."

The sound of doors opening pulled the Lord's attention away from the battle and to the approaching robotic bird. He held out his right hand before the bird perched on it. A wire was inserted into the mechanical creature. As soon as the uploaded report was brought up on the holographic screen, the Lord was…

 ***BAM***

"THEY _SURVIVED_!?"

… not pleased, to say the least. In his fit of rage, the Lord had grabbed the messenger and killed it by slamming it into the armrest and crushing it under his strength. His eyes burned such a crimson red light; it would give the late Julian Robotnik's competition.

"How!? How could the Devil and Mecha Sonic have been defeated so easily!? And _with a Chaos Emerald!?_ "

The Lord put a left fist up to his forehead and leaned against it.

"Now I have three new problems… the Devil has been destroyed, Mecha Sonic is missing in action… and now the damn Mobians have another Chaos Emerald! And another Master Emerald shard!"

The Lord leaned back in his thrown and went back to observe the fight.

"Mephiles…" he growled, "You had better not disappoint me…"

He quickly glanced at another screen that showed a platoon heading towards two people.

"And the same goes for Echo Squad."

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Somewhere in Mobius_

 **[ 1 Hour of Forest Music ]** (Uploaded by Derek & Brandon Fiechter) (0:00)

"… and then, against all odds, we heard Sonic's voice coming from the Rookie's radio!" Silver exclaimed.

"You saved him!?" Blaze gasped.

"Well, _we_ didn't… but the Rookie did!" said Silver.

It had been a couple of days since Silver and Blaze began their journey to find the stolen Sol Emeralds. After unsuccessfully finding anything in Station Square and Central City, they decided to take their search to Mobius. During that time, Silver was telling Blaze everything that had happened since Sonic's 19th birthday **(Generations)** or at least as much as he could remember being told. And now… well, here they are; Silver flying near Blaze, who was rushing along the dirt road toward some destination.

"So, you guys returned back to Earth after freeing Sonic from the Death Egg; what happened next?" asked Blaze.

"Well, we sent Sonic and the Rookie to…"

Silver's voice began to fade away as Blaze went deep into her thoughts.

" _I can't believe all this has happened in the last two years. I should have stayed in touch with everyone… maybe I would have been able to do something."_

"…?"

…

"…ze?"

…

"Blaze!"

Blaze shook her head and turned to Silver.

"Hm? What's wrong?" she asked as she looked around urgently.

"What? Nothing!" Silver replied, "I was just trying to get your attention. You looked like you were pondering about something."

"Oh… Sorry, Silver, I… I was, yes."

"… Is there something on your mind?" Silver asked.

" _Besides being a terrible friend, you not remembering my sacrifice, me failing my duties as a guardian, and the fact that I love you? Not real- wait… love him? Why did I think that? I just like him a lot… like a brother…? Perhaps?"_

 **Yeah… sure you do. Like Knuckles and Rouge don't like each other… Mm-hmm… sure.**

"Not really, Silver," she replied, hiding a faint blush from him, "It's just… it's…"

"You feel like you're failing your people?" Silver asked.

"… yeah."

"Hmm," Silver smirked, "I beg to differ. If you were failing your people, you wouldn't even be trying to find the other Sol Emeralds."

Blaze gave him a look.

"Uh… thanks? How's that supposed to help me?" she asked.

" _Great… just great. Good choice of words, Silver!"_ the hedgehog mentally scowled himself.

"Well… what I meant was, you _are_ doing your duty. If the Sol Emeralds were to ever be taken away, it is also your duty to retrieve them, right?"

Blaze thought for a moment.

"Well, I suppose…" she sighed.

" _I'm an awful friend..."_ Silver thought.

Blaze turned to Silver.

"You're still so naïve," she said quietly.

"Hm?"

Silver turned to Blaze.

"Did you say something?"

"… Uh, I said thank you," she lied before looking ahead, "Hey, I see a city up ahead!"

Silver looked and saw it too.

"Maybe we'll have better luck here," he said, trying to lift Blaze's hopes.

Silver sped ahead of Blaze as he took off toward the city.

"Yeah… maybe," Blaze muttered before picking up the pace to catch up to Silver.

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ 1 Hour of RPG Towns and Villages Music ]** (Uploaded by Derek & Brandon Fiechter) (4:20) **(JUST BLAZE! God damn it… *sigh* didn't think that one through… Ugggghhh… Blaze is gonna kill me for that one later.)**

A couple of minutes later, Silver and Blaze found themselves in the middle of a bustling metropolis. All around them, people were busy moving from one destination to another; some even selling goods and produce from cart wagons.

"Wow," Silver sighed in awe, "I've never seen any place like this before."

Blaze turned to her friend, raising one of her brows.

"Really?" she asked, "This doesn't look similar to Empire City?"

Silver gave a nervous chuckle as he looked at Blaze.

"Well… yeah, this is very much like that," he replied, "I just meant that… I've never been to Mobius before now. And compared to Empire City, this place is more… uh… oh, what's the word?"

"Medieval?" Blaze suggested.

"Mmm… kinda?" said Silver, not too sure himself, "Maybe somewhere between medieval and industrial, instead though."

Blaze took a look at the surround area.

"Hmm… I guess you're right, Silver," said Blaze, "Now that I think about it… this place reminds me a lot of home."

"Huh?"

"Actually, it's just like my kingdom back in my dimension."

"Oh."

"Well, enough sightseeing. Let's ask around and see if anyone has seen the Emeralds," said Blaze.

Silver nodded.

"Right."

With that, the two began their search in the city.

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Eggman's Base in the Mystic Ruins_

 **[ Boss – Mephiles – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00) **(What did you expect? It's Mephiles FFS.)**

Back at the Mystic Ruins base, things were… well, just take a look for yourselves.

"Chaos… SPEAR!"

Floating mid-air, Shadow swiped his arms out and unleashed a barrage of red Chaos energy projectiles at multiple Shadow minions; resulting in at least- **wait, one… two… three… uuhh… screw it;** resulting in a couple dozen Shadow minion heads getting impaled. As soon as they ceased to be, the minions would dissipate into some dark substance, which would return to Mephiles. Throughout this skirmish, Shadow had been unable to land a single hit on Mephiles; every time he came remotely close to his position, Shadow would be ambushed by more minions.

"It's futile, Shadow… I have become stronger since our last encounter."

Mephiles held out his right hand, aiming his palm toward Shadow.

"Perhaps this will remind you of what I am capable of."

Shadow glanced over and saw what Mephiles was doing. And not a moment too late. As soon as Mephiles unleashed an energy beam directly at the hedgehog. The next thing he knew, Mephiles was struck from behind and sent flying across the room. The assault had hardly even stunned him because he instantly recovered and landed on his feet with ease.

"Ah hahahahaha, well played, Shadow…" Mephiles complimented darkly, "You've managed to teleport yourself out of my attack's path and strike me from behind."

Mephiles turned slowly around as Shadow attempted to rush him. Unfortunately, the Shadow minions didn't want that. **Surprising, I know.** Shadow's fist was inches away from Mephiles' smug face before a couple of minions dove into Shadow. The three tumbled on the ground a couple of times before Shadow regained his footing and spin kicked the nuisances off him. He looked up to see that Mephiles wasn't there.

"Hmm…" Shadow groaned quietly as he glanced around, "Where are you?"

Now that he thought about it, Shadow didn't even see anymore minions. Where did they all go?

" _He's a being of darkness,"_ Shadow thought, _"He must be hiding in the shadows surround this entire area."_

It was only a second later that Shadow's theory was proven right; all around him, orchid-purple colored eyes, hundreds of them, began to appear from the darkness. Their chittering noises echoed throughout the room, which, in of itself, amplified the magnitude of the noise.

"Hmph. So… that's how you want to fight?" Shadow muttered.

In response to Shadow's rhetorical question, all the minions launched toward Shadow in the attempt to subdue him with sheer numbers.

"Chaos…"

At least 43 minions; **yes, I counted;** managed to grab onto Shadow before… well, you know… glowing red aura and all.

" _BLAST!"_

The blast of Chaos energy instantly destroyed any and all minions that it came into contact with; which was practically the entire floor level of the room and up to roughly 15 meters in the air. **Yes, I know I've using both standard and metric units. Don't ask why.** As the blast faded, Shadow looked around to analyze the aftermath.

 **(Music fades)**

"Hmm… Where did-"

 ***ZZZRT***

"URG!"

Mephiles had blindsided Shadow with a ball of dark energy after teleporting back from avoiding the Chaos Blast's attack radius. **Seriously, cheap shot much?** The attack sent Shadow flying towards the Egg Viper and impacting his back into one of the rusty spiked platforms. The good news; Shadow didn't get impaled by one of the spikes on said platform. The bad news: Shadow was now too stunned to do anything, as he fell to the ground and was now on one knee… **Jeez, even though the timeline was altered, some things never change.** The ugly news? The impact forced the Chaos Emerald to be released from Shadow's possession and landed a few feet away. Mephiles turned his attention from Shadow and made his way to collect his prize.

"Urrghh…" Shadow moaned as he tried to get back up on his feet, "Damn you, Mephiles… You won't get away with this."

Shadow minions began spawning once more around the room as Mephiles continued to close the gap between him and the Chaos Emerald.

"Chaos spear…" Shadow muttered as he threw a weak Chaos spear at Mephiles.

A minion flew into its path and provided cover for its master. Mephiles laughed as he picked up the Emerald.

"Oh, Shadow. I expected so much more from you," Mephiles remarked, tauntingly.

"What did you expect?" Shadow asked as Mephiles turned to face him and the minions closed in around him.

"Why, only an actual challenge from the Ultimate Life Form, of course!" Mephiles replied, "That fight was so abysmal; you should be ashamed."

Suddenly, Shadow did something no one, not even Mephiles, would have guessed; he looked down and chuckled.

"Hm? What's so funny?" the master of darkness asked.

"Oh, the fight hasn't even begun, Mephiles."

Shadow looked up and smirked.

"I'm just stalling."

Now Mephiles was laughing.

"Oh, really?" he asked, "And exactly what are you waiting for?"

Suddenly, a hailstorm of bullets rained down all around the room. A stray bullet collided with Mephiles' hand, causing him to unintentionally toss the Emerald away.

"What!? What is this!?" Mephiles yelled.

He and Shadow watched as the Shadow minions were ripped to shreds by the onslaught of bullets from above. Mephiles looked up and saw something hurling towards the ground.

 ***CLANG***

The object looked up at Mephiles.

"Well, isn't this a surprise," he said, "It's my old friend Omega."

 **What, were you expect Batman? (I don't own DC)**

"Target confirmed," Omega stated, "Combat mode… engaged. Weapon locks disengaged."

Shadow was finally able to stand back up and grab the Chaos Emerald.

"Omega!" he called out.

Omega turned in time to catch the Chaos Emerald that Shadow had tossed to him. Knowing why Shadow did so, Omega placed the Emerald in his chest compartment. Shadow noticed he had a gash in his upper left arm; blood was very slowly dripping from his elbow.

" _Damn. Of all things…"_

At least he doesn't have to worry about tetanus. **Lucky.** Shadow ignored his injury and teleported next to Omega. The two glared at Mephiles.

"After everything that had happened… you still work together as partners? How amusing," said Mephiles.

Shadow was about to remark Mephiles, but Omega said something first.

"Shadow will never be a threat to the world."

Shadow glanced over at Omega; his eyes widened.

" _He remembers?!"_

"So… even the robot remembers," Mephiles mused, "No matter… it's now time to end this little dance of ours."

Shadow turned back to Mephiles.

"Hmph. Let's get this over with, Omega."

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Late night | Chill Mix ]** (Uploaded by ChilloutDeer) (0:00)

"Rouge, relax," Siris said into his communicator, "It's Shadow and Omega, they'll be fine."

" _ **Oh, really? Did you not hear what we just told you!?"**_ Rouge screamed.

Siris sighed. It was early in the evening, where he was, and after numerous hours of work and doing a Q&A with Sylvie, he was tired. Siris had just finished cooking a chicken roast with steamed potatoes when Rouge called him. Sylvie looked up from her dinner and gave Siris a confused look. He gave her the 'gimme a moment' gesture.

"Rouge," Siris replied, "you've literally spent the last three minutes freaking out about not being able to contact Shadow and Omega. I have no clue what you are talking about, since you haven't told me what happened."

" _ **Maybe we should tell him."**_

"Good to hear from ya, Mighty!" exclaimed Siris, "I take it you and Ray also made it safely."

" _ **Yup! All five of us!"**_ Ray replied.

Siris was now confused. He blinked a few times before mouthing 'five?' to himself.

"Wait, five? I thought Vector and the others were at the Mystic Ruins," said Siris.

" _ **This is Espio. I've already searched the Mystic Ruins days ago, including that base Eggman was using years ago during the Chaos incident."**_

"Why are you guys in Adabat?" asked Siris.

" _ **Mighty and Ray told us to. I thought you told him, you two!"**_

" _ **We did, Vector! Honest!"**_

"Okay, hold on! They _did_ tell me about that. But then Rouge and I got a message about Vector, Espio, and Charmy finding a Chaos Emerald in the Mystic Ruins base."

" _ **Who sent that message to you guys?! 'Because I didn't!"**_ Vector exclaimed.

" _ **Well, apparently it was from you, Vector,"**_ said Rouge.

"I got mine from- hang on, I've got some potato skin stuck in my teeth… got it. I got mine from Rouge," said Siris.

He looked over at Sylvie and saw her trying hard to not smile. The face she was making cause him to let out a small 'pfft' that he couldn't hold back. That's when she broke and smiled.

" _ **Well, since they didn't… are you okay, Siris? What's so funny?"**_ Ray asked.

Siris slid his tongue over the front of his top teeth to try and get rid of the chuckles.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry, it was nothing. Please continue."

" _ **Uh… okaaayyy… Since Vector didn't send that message to Rouge, nor Rouge to you, then who did?"**_

No one said a word for a few moments, that is, until Siris sighed.

"I… have an idea as to who might have done it."

" _ **Well, who-"**_

"I'll handle it. Besides, I'm not entirely sure if it was them yet."

"… _**If you say so, buddy,"**_ said Mighty.

"Speaking of buddies… is Knuckles asleep or something?"

" _ **Huh?"**_ muttered Knuckles.

"Well, you haven't said a word this entire conversation. Were you sleeping or something?"

"… _**What?"**_

Everyone but Rouge and the distracted echidna laughed.

"Oh, man. I'm sorry if I bothered you, Knuckles," said Siris.

" _ **Not funny, Siris,"**_ said Rouge.

Siris could hear the seriousness in her tone.

"Uh… is something wrong? Did something happen?"

Silence.

"Uh, guys?"

" _ **Knuckles, are you-"**_

" _ **I'M FINE, ROUGE! LEAVE ME ALONE!"**_

Siris could hear Knuckles walking away from the group on… metal?

"Uh, where are you guys right now?"

" _ **Rouge had G.U.N. pick us up by plane,"**_ Charmy explained, _**"We're heading… uh… huh. Hey, where are we heading?"**_

" _ **The Mystic Ruins,"**_ said Rouge.

"Uh… not to be out of bounds here, but what's with Knuckles?" Siris asked.

Sylvie got up from her seat and took her and Siris' empty plates to the kitchen and placed them in the sink. She turned and looked at Siris. He knew what she was going to ask.

"Go ahead, Sylvie. It's only a small number of items."

She nodded and began washing the dishes.

" _Where did her smile go?"_

" _ **Knuckles… it's been a long day, Siris,"**_ Rouge said solemnly, _**"Knuckles took it pretty hard."**_

"What exactly happened?"

Rouge and the Chaotix, when necessary, explained to Siris everything that happened; from Rouge meeting Knuckles in Adabat, all the way to their fight with the Devil and the pilot.

"Wow," said Siris, "So the whole time, the pilot was a human cadaver kept alive by electronics?"

" _ **Yeah. Do you know or heard of anything about something like this?"**_ Rouge asked.

"Hmm…" Siris pondered, "Well… back when I was…"

He looked around to make sure Sylvie wasn't around to hear. After she had finished the dishes, Siris started working on his little project at his desk and Sylvie sat beside him and the two listened to the story. A long way into the story of the day's events, Sylvie went to bed… well, okay, technically Siris asked if she was tired, which she was but insisted that she should stay up with Siris, but he managed to convince her to get some sleep.

" *Ahem* … back when I was Julian's slave, I did come across some ideas he had of cheating death with the help of technology. He never got it to work, thank God and Chaos, but I wouldn't be surprised if this 'Lord' managed to find out about the ideas and managed to bastardize it to be used for his plans, not that they were already bastardized."

"… _**Uh, Siris? Are you sure you wanted them to-"**_

"I already told Knuckles, Mighty, and Ray a few days ago, I don't mind the others knowing, Rouge."

" _ **Well… I'm glad you're starting to open up a little,"**_ Rouge teased.

"Don't start. I've barely even done so. Anyways, what happened after you defeated the pilot?"

"… _**Uh… Well, you see…"**_ Charmy tried explaining.

" _ **The red Wisp that helped Knuckles win the fight…"**_ Espio answered.

Siris' heart began to sink.

"Y-yeah? What happened?"

" _ **The pilot had an explosive device within his body. He was about to send us all to the afterlife… when…"**_ said Rouge.

…

…

…

"… _**The Wisp left Knuckles' body and entered the pilot's. It gave its life to save ours,"**_ she finished.

…

…

…

" _ **Siris?"**_ Rouge called out.

"… Rouge…"

" _ **Yes?"**_

"Was the Wisp… was it _him_?"

" _ **I… don't know. Siris, are you…?"**_

"I'm fine… just… *sigh*… Just finish the story," he said as he moved his goggles up to wipe the tears from his eyes.

" _ **Well, after that we found out that Knuckles had a fake communicator and that we lost contact with Shadow and Omega. Since then, we've been on the move,"**_ Vector concluded.

Siris moaned and put down his welder as he got up from his seat.

"So, now what? Should we call Sonic and Tails and Amy?" he asked as he walked to the fridge to grab some water.

" _ **We've been trying. They won't pick up,"**_ said Mighty.

Siris finished his water before replying.

"I'll ring them up," he said as he began pushing buttons on his communicator.

" _ **Siris,"**_ said Vector, _**"we've tried nearly 50 times already, even during our call with you. What makes you think you'll do any better than-"**_

" _ **Hello? Tails speaking."**_

" _ **You've gotta be kiddin' me…"**_ Vector muttered.

"Hey, Tails, it's Siris. You're on conference call with Rouge, Knuckles, and the Chaotix."

" _ **Oh, great! Did Mighty and Ray give Knuckles his communicator back?"**_

" _ **Yeah, we did,"**_ said Mighty, _**"Is Sonic and Amy with you?"**_

" _ **Yeah, we're here too!"**_ exclaimed Sonic.

" _ **Oh,"**_ said Vector, _**"Well in that case… WHERE HAVE YOU GUYS BEEN!?"**_

Siris picked his ears.

"Is there always a moment where someone shouts like this and makes your ears ring?" he asked.

" _ **Yes,"**_ everyone replied flatly.

" _ **What was that for, Vector?"**_ asked Amy.

" _ **We've been calling you three for hours now. Why haven't you called back or replied to any of our messages?"**_ Espio calmly asked.

" _ **What are you talking about, Espio? We haven't received any calls or messages from anyone recently,"**_ said Tails.

"You sure?" asked Siris.

" _ **Surer than Eggman's moustache,"**_ joked Sonic, earning him a few laughs.

"I don't get it," said Siris.

" _ **I'll tell you about it later, Siris,"**_ said the blue blur, _**"But in all seriousness, we haven't received any calls or messages."**_

Siris groaned and rubbed his forehead.

" _ **What are you thinking, Siris?"**_ asked Rouge.

"What I think… is that someone is messing with all our communications."

" _ **What makes you say that?"**_ asked Amy.

" _ **Shouldn't we bring them up to speed of what has happened?"**_ asked Charmy.

" _ **I agree,"**_ said Espio.

" _ **Same."**_

"Ugghhh… I was hoping this wouldn't happen…" Siris muttered, "Yeah. Let's go through the whole thing again."

…

" _ **Uh, something wrong, Siris?"**_

"Besides another headache, not really."

" _ **You don't have to listen again if you-"**_

"No, I mean I'm literally having another headache right now. I'm fine. Let's get these three up to speed."

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Mystic Ruins: Eggman's Base_

 **BOSS: Mephiles the Dark (Non-Crystalline Form)**

 **[ Vengeance is Mine …for Radical Highway – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Hrrraaahh!" Shadow yelled as he stomped down a couple of Shadow minions, midair.

As he landed, Shadow was ambushed by three more minions. Omega's rotary cannons, which are different from his Gatling arsenal, made quick work out of the ambushers. Shadow dashed off towards another group of Shadow minions. When he was in range, the annoying little freaks dove for him. But when the tried to grab him, Shadow was no longer there.

"Chaos…"

The confused minions looked up and saw Shadow diving towards them.

"Boost!"

Chaos energy instantly surrounded Shadow, giving him a red and yellow aura over his body. Before the minions could react, Shadow instantly teleported himself towards one of them and kicked it into the far-side wall. He then teleported to another and, with his fist, backhanded it into Oblivion. He- **Wait… this isn't The Elder Scrolls… *shrugs*** He then repeated his assault on the other minions.

Meanwhile, Omega was busy clearing a path for him to reach Mephiles. Unlike Shadow, Omega was feared by the minions. Just a little bit; enough so they wouldn't try to grab onto the robot's body and slow him down. No, really, the 14 or so minions that did or tried to grab ahold of Omega were… let's just say he has a _very strong grip._

"You've gotten some major upgrades, Omega," said Mephiles, "You should join our ranks. My 'Lord' will be very pleased."

Omega retracted his left Omega Machine Gun **(Yeah, that's what it's called, according to the Sonic wiki)** and activated his Omega Shot. He aimed it at Mephiles and fired a charged shot at the fiend. Most of the projectiles homed in on the minions the floated between Omega and Mephiles, but a couple did manage to hit the intended target.

"Take this!" Mephiles shouted.

A dark energy beam shot from his hand and hit Omega dead center. The robot managed to bring his right arm in front of him and block the beam. He held his ground, but he was helpless to do anything.

"Shadow! Requesting assistance! Armor integrity falling!"

Shadow looked over and saw Omega struggling to hold up.

"On it," he replied.

A minion came flying in like a bat out of Hell and tried to blindside Shadow. Without even looking, Shadow snatched the thing with his right hand. Still under the effects of the Chaos Boost, Shadow teleported as close the Mephiles as possible and heaved the minion at Mephiles. The foe glanced over at the minion thrown at him. He caught it with his free hand; still releasing his attack on Omega; and absorbed the minion's essence into his body.

"Chaos…"

Mephiles stopped firing his energy beam and whipped around in time to see a darker red aura surrounding Shadow, who had instantly teleported behind Mephiles the moment the Shadow minion was out of his hand.

"What?!" exclaimed Mephiles.

"Blast!"

Mephiles was sent flying across the room and slammed into the empty cockpit, which once housed the Egg Mobile a few years ago. Shadow landed on the ground below and the aura from the Chaos Boost disappeared. Omega joined Shadow's side.

 **(Lower volume until it's a bit more than faint)**

"You alright, Omega?"

"Affirmative. Armor integrity at 93%. Minor repairs are low priority."

"Hmph. Good."

The began to approach the Egg Viper to get answers from Mephiles before he attempted any kind of escape. Suddenly, the whole room began to shake.

"Wh-what's going on!?"

"Alert: Unknown energy spike detected ahead!"

"Mephiles"

"Negative. The source is from-"

 ***CLANG***

 ***CLANG***

 ***SKRIIIIIIII***

 ***CLANG***

 ***ZZZRT***

 ***ZZZRT***

Shadow and Omega stared in shock as the Egg Viper, now back online and surrounded in shadow essence; the green lights were orchid colored. The bladed platforms were spinning at high speeds beside the main body of the Viper.

"Ah hahahahahaha! I told you, Shadow the Hedgehog," said Mephiles, his voice booming from within the Egg Viper, "I have become more powerful since our last encounter."

"This fight is becoming more of a nuisance by the second. Let's finish this, Omega," said Shadow, glaring at his foe.

Omega glanced over to Shadow and saw him slip off his Limiter Rings.

"Oh? You wish to waste all your energy now?" Mephiles questioned the black hedgehog.

"Chaos… Boost!"

Unleashing his power at almost peak performance, Shadow was surrounded by a glowing gold and red mixed aura; his Limiter Rings lying on the ground.

 **BOSS: Dark Viper**

 **(Raise music back up)**

"Very well… let's see if you can still entertain me."

Shadow dashed toward the Dark Viper, moving at speeds Mephiles wasn't aware he could reach. The Viper launched one of its bladed platforms out at Shadow. He slid under it before leaping toward the Viper's cockpit and landing multiple strikes to it.

"Ha-hyuh-ha-ha-hyuh!"

While the Dark Viper might look similar to the Egg Viper, there are some differences, other than the change in color schemes.

"Huh?"

Shadow just noticed one of them. The nodes from the Egg Viper's tail is no longer on the tail… since the friggin' enhanced one has no tail. Instead, the nodes are all located on the fins of the Dark Viper, which are all flipped around so when they fan out, the nodes are facing forward, which, at the moment, are now glowing into Shadow's face- oh, crap, better get back to the fight.

"Hyah!"

Shadow managed to backflip up into the air quick enough before the laser cannon fired directly at him. It was only a short laser shot and it required time to charge. Shadow took advantage of this and stomped down back to the cockpit. Unfortunately, the Dark Viper moved to the side and Shadow missed his intended point of attack.

"Shadow! Platform incoming!" Omega warned.

Shadow turned around and saw the platform launched at him moments ago was coming right back at him. He launched himself towards the ground and began dashing around to find another opportunity to attack.

"Scanning target."

Omega, who was already gliding around the Dark Viper, found that his weapons did no effect on the machine. Upon realizing this, and saving Shadow, assuming he ever needs saving, Omega kept his distance and began scanning for possible weaknesses in the Dark Viper he and Shadow could exploit.

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Somewhere over the ocean…_

"Tails! How long 'til we get to the Mystic Ruins!?" Sonic asked urgently from one of the wings of the Tornado 2.

"About 4 hours!"

"I hope Shadow and Omega will be okay," said Amy.

" _ **I'm sure they're fine, Amy,"**_ said Siris; his voice coming from Tails' communicator, _**"But, couldn't Sonic just use Chaos Control to get to the Mystic Ruins?"**_

"He only knows how to teleport short distances," Tails replied, "Also, he can't teleport others."

"… _**I'm not even gonna ask,"**_ said Sirs, _**"… yet."**_

" _ **Well, the sooner they find them, the better,"**_ said Rouge.

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Mystic Ruins Eggman Base_

Omega's scans indicated that, unlike the original Egg Viper, the cockpit was not the weakness. In fact, there were no external weaknesses at all.

"Omega! Behind you!"

Turning his head 180 degrees, Omega noticed one of the spiked platforms chasing him. Unfortunately, there was little he could do other than move faster.

…

He can't use Chaos powers. When's the last time he _ever_ used a Chaos Emerald? **Sonic Heroes doesn't count, that was all Shadow during Team Blast.**

…

Anyways, Omega began to glide faster around the room, but the platform was still catching up to him.

"Shadow, this machine has no external weaknesses!"

Shadow leapt over the other platform that the Dark Viper had sent after him.

"Rgghh… then what do we do?" Shadow asked.

He and Omega have tried almost everything, short of using the Chaos Emerald, just to at least damage the Dark Viper. Homing attacks, Omega Shots, Omega launching Shadow directly at the cockpit in combination with Shadow boosting midair. Nothing. His energy was getting close to depleting. They needed to do something, and soon.

"Scans indicate unstable power within the main body."

"Got it."

Shadow skated towards the Dark Viper once more. The machines nodes began to glow, indicating that the laser cannon was charging. It didn't faze Shadow; he leapt into the air, towards the cockpit. As soon as the laser fired, he began to spin dash midair and teleported himself inside the cockpit. Omega, still being chased by the spiked platform, watched as the Dark Viper began to jerk and twitch violently in every direction.

"Rrrgghhh… Shaaadoooowww! What are you doing!?" Mephiles shouted.

The assault continued for another half minute before Shadow erupted from the side of the Dark Viper. A small explosion from within the dark machine caused Mephiles to be ejected and thrown from the other side of the Dark Viper and land on the ground. The Dark Viper slowly fell to the ground before it came to a halt and laid, void of power.

 **(Music fades)**

"Urgh…"

Shadow, who now had barely any energy left just to stand up, tried to catch his breath as he leaned on one knee. From his peripheral, he saw something green and shiny lying on the ground.

" _Is that… the Emerald?"_

Mephiles slowly got back onto his feet.

"Ugghh… I've seen enough," he muttered.

Shadow watched as a Shadow minion spawned near the Emerald and take it.

"No… how did Omega…"

Shadow's words failed him as his eyes fixated on the nearby heavily damaged robot sitting against the wall.

"Omega!"

"Hahahahaha! It is truly a shame that your friend thought he could keep the Chaos Emerald from me!" Mephiles laughed.

The Shadow minion flew over to Mephiles as Shadow rushed over and kneeled next to Omega.

"Omega?"

His chest compartment was compromised; the platform had made a whole in the left rear area of his torso. On top of that, many hydraulic and circuit boards were terribly damaged. Omega was still online, but barely.

"Sh-Sh-Shad-d-d-dooowwww…"

"I'll get you out of here, Omega."

"I think not."

Shadow turned and saw Mephiles holding a familiar neon blue sphere of energy in his hand.

"Shit," Shadow muttered.

"This time, Shadow the Hedgehog," Mephiles said darkly, "you will not be coming back!"

The shadow master released the ball of energy and it approached the two G.U.N. agents.

"Farewell, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Siris' Home_

"Look, all I'm saying is that we should assume our communications are completely screwed and that we should assume all messages from this point on are false," said Siris.

" _ **Siris,"**_ said Rouge, _**"You're tired. How are we going to stay in communications with each other if we can't communicator?"**_

"I said 'messages' are false, not 'communications'. What I meant was, we should have some failsafe to ensure we know if any and all communications between us is legit."

" _ **And how do you propose we do that?"**_ asked Knuckles, who finally included himself in the conversation about midway through the second storytelling event.

"I… have no clue," admitted Siris.

" _ **Why not just use video communication?"**_ Tails suggested, _**"That way we can actually see and hear everyone in the conversation."**_

Silence.

"Well… that would work, Tails. But let's assume that whoever is targeting the communications is also able to deceive us with false video and voice modifiers. Then what?" Siris asked.

"… _ **Uuuhhh…"**_ Tails groaned.

" _ **What do you suggest, Siris?"**_ asked Sonic, _**"Hand gestures, secret phrases, or maybe some hi-tech gizmo that tells if it's really us or not?"**_

"Uh… that could work. But, again, those can all be fooled," said Sirs.

" _ **I think I have an idea,"**_ said Tails.

" _ **Really? What is it?"**_ asked Espio.

"NOT HERE!" Siris shouted.

Silence.

"Sorry," he said before clearing his throat, "I think it would be best if we heard the idea in person. For all we know, someone could be listening in on us."

" _ **That sounds reasonable… if not paranoid,"**_ said Tails, _**"But, waiting until Halloween seems a bit much, don't you think? Especially with the current situation?"**_

" _ **Well, right now, we're all here, save for two people,"**_ said Charmy.

" _ **Four,"**_ Vector corrected, _**"Silver and Blaze aren't with us right now either."**_

" _ **I knew that!"**_ Charmy remarked, _**"I forgot about Shadow and Omega!"**_

Everyone facepalmed. It was so loud, even the people on the Ark heard it.

" _ **Nice, Charmy,"**_ Amy remarked.

" _ **Sorry…"**_

"Speaking of Shadow and Omega…" Siris began.

" _ **Still nothing,"**_ said Knuckles.

" _ **Tails, how long now?!"**_ Rouge asked, demandingly.

" _ **I can see my workshop in the distance! We're almost there!"**_ he replied.

"Uh, guys?"

" _ **Sonic, any luck contacting them?"**_ asked Amy.

" _ **No."**_

"Guys?"

" _ **What about trying to reach Silver and Blaze?"**_ asked Knuckles.

" _ **Same deal,"**_ Sonic replied.

" _ **Damn it… we should have known this was all a trap!"**_

" _ **Rouge, we don't even know if this was a setup,"**_ said Mighty.

"Guys~?"

" _ **Well, those two have never gone radio silent this long before. And no one's heard from Silver and Blaze in days. What if-"**_

"GUYS!"

" _ **WHAT!?"**_ they all screamed.

"I found Shadow and Omega."

…

…

…

" _ **Where…?"**_ they all asked simultaneously.

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Lord's Base_

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) **(Loop it multiple times)**

"Ah, you've returned."

"Yes," Mephiles replied, "And I have a gift."

"I hope so."

The Shadow minion carried the green Emerald over to the Lord and placed it in his hands.

"Well done, Mephiles. You've once again proven to me that you are very reliable."

"I do what I can to help, my Lord."

"Oh, don't be so deceiving, Mephiles. I know you only do this to your own benefit. You wish to find Iblis' vessel and release your other half so the two of you can be whole again."

"So you heard all that."

"I have no issue with it. You never specified what you wanted; but learning you allies'… or subordinates' secrets and motives help in making sure my plans run smoothly."

…

"I just hope you leave this world and universe alone for me to rule."

"… As long as you help me in reaching my goal as well as yours," Mephiles replied.

The Lord gazed upon the Emerald in his hands.

"Hmm…"

"Is there something wrong?" Mephiles asked.

The Lord did not reply; he examined the Emerald closely.

"My lord?"

 ***WHAM***

The Lord slammed his fist down on the robot birds remains, which he never cleaned up… or ordered any servants to do so.

"IT'S NOT A CHAOS EMERALD!" he roared.

"What!?"

"This is a large fragment of the Master Emerald that just so happens to looks like a Chaos Emerald!"

The Lord glared at Mephiles.

"WHERE DID YOU SEND THOSE TWO!?"

"I sent them someplace they will never escape… Hell."

"And where is the CHAOS EMERALD?!"

"Why does that matter?" asked Mephiles, "As long as the Chaos Emerald is unreachable, your plans will still be completed."

Before the Lord could further argue, an unexpected guest arrived through the doors.

"Who enters without my permission!?"

The figure walked into the light and revealed themselves.

"Ah, Mecha Sonic… you've finally returned," said the Lord.

Mecha Sonic remained still and silent.

"Now I have two things to do… AND THAT IS TO DESTROY BOTH OF YOU!"

Mecha Sonic replied with a flurry of beeps.

"What? Show me!" the Lord demanded.

A light flashed across Mecha Sonic's eyes as he sent a large amount of scanned data to the Lord. A holographic UI appeared before the Lord. It only took a moment for the Lord to know what it was that he was seeing.

"Hmm… interesting."

"My lord?" Mephiles asked.

"Mephiles, Mecha Sonic. This Emerald fragment and this data analysis; they give me a wonderful idea. Now listen carefully…"

 _Meanwhile, in another part of the base…_

"Ooohhh, where are those two buffoons?! How hard can it be just to find Boron arsenide and Indium antimonide semiconductor materials!?"

"Boss! We're back!"

"Well, it's about time! Did you bring all the items I requested?"

"Yup! Sure did! Here, take a look!"

"YOU STUPID BOX! THIS ISN'T A TITANIUM PLATE!"

"Yes, it is! You can put food on it!"

 ***CLANG***

 ***Thud***

"Why do I even _bother_ with _him_?"

"Sorry, boss. I didn't notice he didn't-"

"No, no, it's fine, Orbot. I see you've managed to bring me the correct materials."

"I have. But, boss… what exactly are you planning to build?"

"You'll see, in due time, Orbot," Eggman smiled, "You'll see in due time."

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Siris' Home_

"They're standing at my front doorway."

…

No one said a word. Shadow calmly walked over to Siris, who was still working on his side project, and spoke into the communicator.

"Give me a few minutes. I'll explain everything then."

He then switched off Siris' communicator. Siris looked at Shadow. And then Omega. They remained silent for a while.

"Soooo…" said Siris with a fake and nervous smile, "What brings you here? Did, uhh… anything interesting happen in the Mystic Ruins?"

…

"We've got bigger problems."

"Oh, joy. And it's not even my birthday yet," said Siris, "But, first… you need a bandage, and Omega needs repairs."

Before Shadow could respond, Siris had rushed into his clinic, grabbed a long strip a bandage wrap **(not tape)** , ran back, and wrapped up Shadow's still bleeding arm. That took a total of about one and a half seconds.

"Alright, that's one problem dealt with," said Siris.

Shadow looked at his left arm and moved it around, determining if its mobility was compromised.

"Shadow, knowing you, you won't be needing that thing by morning," said Siris, "Although, I am quite surprised that even you managed to get injured like this."

Siris turned to Omega, knowing Shadow was glaring behind his back.

"Alright, big guy," said Siris, "Let's head out back. Not much room in my home to do work on you."

 **[ Instrumental Music Background – Calm Relaxing Music For Work, Study, Reading and Concentration ]** (Uploaded by Meditation and Relaxing Music) (0:00)

Siris grabbed his small collection of tools and led Shadow and Omega out and around to the back of the house. The broken bottles and cans from his training that morning were all cleaned up, but the wooden dummy target was still there; that caught Shadow's attention for a moment.

"Omega, just sit here," Siris said, pointing to the ground next to the wooden bench as he placed his tools there.

Siris examined Omega's body to see the extent of the damage.

"Omega, is there any issues with your memory banks?"

Omega attempted to do a maintenance scan.

"Error: System-m-m d-d-diagnostics not respooooonding…"

"Omega!?" Shadow called out.

The robot leaned forward and the lights in his eyes went dark. Literally. Shadow took a step forward.

"Calm down, Shadow. He just went into emergency standby mode," said Siris as he slid his goggles back on, "It'll take a little longer, but I can do it with these."

"Still have those goggles, I see."

"They still work wonders," Siris replied as he began to perform multiple system scans on Omega, "So… care to explain what's going on?"

Shadow stood behind Siris, brooding as usual, as he unscrewed a cracked bolt.

"The darkness has returned," Shadow said flatly.

Siris froze and dropped the wrench.

"… Uh… please repeat that?"

"The darkness has returned."

Siris slowly turned to Shadow and slid his goggles up.

"In the name of all that is holy and unholy… please tell me that this is your attempt at humor."

Shadow just glared at Siris.

"How?" asked Siris.

"The Time Eater."

Siris sighed.

"Remember when I joked about something like this possibly happening? I regret saying that now."

Shadow didn't respond.

"So, what exactly happened?" Siris asked.

Shadow told him the whole story from Rouge's message up to him bring Omega to Siris.

"Wow… so you guys found a fragment of the Master Emerald as well."

"Yes, but we lost… possession of it."

"And the Chaos Emerald," Siris muttered.

"Not exactly…"

 _*** 10 Minutes Ago ***_

"Farewell, Shadow the Hedgehog!"

"Shad-dow…" said Omega.

Shadow turned and looked down. He saw Omega's hand hold the green Chaos Emerald and his Limiter Rings.

" _He must have had both Emeralds in his chest,"_ Shadow thought to himself as he slipped his Limiter Rings back on his wrists.

He grabbed the Chaos Emerald and was about to teleport the two of them back to G.U.N. headquarters when Omega grabbed his arm.

"S-S-Siris… taaaaaaaake me-e-e to him…" Omega asked in a garbled voice.

With no time to argue, Shadow did as he was asked.

 _*** Present ***_

Siris just stared at Shadow; his face showing his attempt to process the information and his jaw was hanging. He then shook his head.

"Shadow, one of these days, you will not be so lucky to make it out like that."

"Hmph… that'll be the day."

Siris slid his goggles back on.

"Yeah- hold up. My scans are complete."

…

"Alright, do you want the-"

"Just tell me," Shadow growled.

"Sheesh, sor-ry! Scans show that his memory banks and weapon systems are perfectly fine. He does have multiple software errors and signs of corruption."

"Hrrmm…"

"Again, his memory banks are fine. His personality won't change. I can quickly repair all the motherboards and circuits before reinstalling all the software from his back up drives."

"How long?"

"About 20 minutes, give or take."

"That fast?"

"Assuming G.U.N. hasn't completely screwed up any of his upgrades, yeah."

With that said, Siris dashed back into his house and came back with a few dozen unused circuit boards. Shadow raised a brow.

"Helps to be prepared," Siris explained, "I always knew there would be a day when Omega would need me to repair him."

"There are people in G.U.N.-"

"Who would take over a week just to do a simple chip replacement," Siris smirked, "But there's a couple of problems I can't fix here."

"And what would that be?" Shadow asked as Siris' hands breezed through different circuit boards that could be used to replace the damaged ones.

"Some of Omega's hydraulic systems are damaged."

Shadow rolled his eyes.

"What else is new?"

"Yeah, shocking, I know. I can repair some of them here, which won't be done until morning, since it's just replacing a few bolts and screws here and there. Unfortunately, there are two components that need to be replaced; I can't repair or make replacements here."

"Why not?"

"One, I don't have to proper tools or machines to manufacture them. And two, I have no clue what the hell these hydraulic models are."

Shadow sighed.

"So, G.U.N. will have to do those repairs then?"

"Assuming they have spares. Last time I repaired Omega, it was a friggin' nightmare," Siris remarked, "Please tell me they hired _smart_ people for once and actually started having spare parts for Omega, just in case?"

"I have no clue."

"Well, you better call and ask… speaking of which, did you receive any of our calls?"

"Calls?"

"Great, your comms was blocked also," Siris sighed.

"Mind telling me what the hell you're talking about?" Shadow asked.

"I'll let the others tell you. It's been a long day for some of them."

The conversation came to a halt as Siris continued repairing the robot. It wasn't until a soft voice from behind them caused Siris, and surprisingly Shadow as well, to jump.

"Would you like something to drink?"

Siris turned and saw Sylvie, who was still wearing her blue dress, standing nervously by the corner of the house.

"Uh, S-Sylvie!" Siris said nervously, "I didn't know you were there. Why aren't you in bed?"

Sylvie shook a little bit.

"I… heard someone entering the house. I thought it would be best if I tended to any of their needs," she answered.

"I… see," said Siris, "Uh… well, I don't see anything wrong with that, but it's quite late. You didn't have to do that."

Sylvie looked disappointed. Shadow glanced between the two hedgehogs.

"Who's this girl?" Shadow asked in his negative tone.

" _I'm so screwed,"_ Siris thought to himself.

"This is Sylvie," he replied, "She's… uuhh…"

"Friend of yours?" asked Shadow.

"… uh, yeah," said Siris.

It didn't sound convincing at all, and Siris knew that. Shadow glared at Siris, who turned his attention back to Omega.

"Um… sir?" asked Sylvie.

Shadow turned to her.

"What?"

"Would you like anything to drink?"

Siris cringed.

"Oh, please God and Chaos, have mercy," Siris pleaded quietly.

Shadow remained silent for a moment.

"I'm fine," he replied.

"… I see," said Sylvie.

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"Hey-"

"Who's Mephiles?" Sylvie asked.

That was the moment when Siris' mind had a nuclear detonation.

" _Why? Just… why?"_

"Mephiles?" Siris asked as though he needed confirmation, "He's… well, a really bad guy, who-"

"He's a being born from when the sun god, known as Solaris, was split into two beings; the other being Iblis, the being of destruction. Mephiles is a master at shapeshifting, deceit, and sadism. He cares for nothing, showing no empathy for others; his only goal is to fuse back with Iblis to become Solaris once more and destroy all of time and space until existence itself is pure nothingness."

Siris stared at Shadow with a blank expression on his face and his arms slightly held out.

"… Shadow...? Why would you tell her that?" Siris asked calmly.

"She asked and you were taking too long."

Siris slowly brought a hand to his face and facepalmed.

"I meant… why would you tell her that _and_ be that harshly descriptive?"

"Is what I said not true?"

Siris wiped his hand down his face and sighed.

"You haven't changed at bit, have you?"

"No."

…

"Shadow, why don't you go contact G.U.N. and see if they have these parts in stock somewhere."

Shadow walked over to Omega and took a quick note of the parts in question before walking somewhere more secluded. Siris sighed and turned back to Sylvie.

"Crap," he muttered.

Sylvie was in shock and terrified of what Shadow just told her. Siris walked over to her.

"Sylvie?"

Nothing.

"Sylvie?"

Again, nothing. Siris placed a hand on her head.

"Sylvie?"

"Eh… huh? Is something wrong?" she asked.

"I was going to ask you that. Are you okay?"

"… I'm… okay."

They remained silent for a couple of moments.

"Master?"

Siris cringed.

"Y-yes, Sylvie?"

"… Is Mephiles dangerous?"

Siris sighed.

"He's extremely dangerous," he replied calmly, "I've never met him, but from what I've been told about him, he's probably the most dangerous being ever known, to date."

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I see."

Siris removed his hand from her head.

"Listen, why don't you go get some sleep?" Siris suggested, "It's very late, and you should get a good night's rest."

"… If that is your wish. Good night, Master."

Siris watched as Sylvie walked along the side of the house and disappear around the corner. He waited until he heard the front door opening and close before going back to the task at hand. The moment he turned around, he was looking straight into Shadow's eyes, which were inches from his.

"WHAT THE SHIT!?" Siris shrieked, jumping back in terror.

"Something wrong?" Shadow asked, slightly amused.

"Yeah, you nearly gave me a heart attack," Siris responded, flipping Shadow the bird.

"Hmph," Shadow smirked.

Siris rolled his eyes as he put his hand down and went back to fixing up Omega.

"What did G.U.N. say?" he asked over his shoulder.

Shadow closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"They don't have the parts," he answered, "And the manufacturing company says they are backordered on crucial machine parts needed to make the parts."

"Shocking. I'll call up Tails. I've heard he's a master mechanist, so maybe he can do it."

Shadow nodded as Siris called up the kitsune.

" _ **Tails speaking."**_

"It's Siris. Am I on conference call?"

" _ **Yeah,"**_ said Tails.

"Alright, before anyone says anything, I'm not gonna be the middleman between you guys and Shadow for a conversation. He'll call you guys in a bit. I just need to know one thing from you, Tails."

" _ **Uh, sure. What is it?"**_

"I'm sending you images of parts that need replacing in Omega's hydraulic systems. G.U.N. is out of stock, so I was wondering if you could make the replacements."

" _ **Images received… Yeah, I think I can. Might take a while, though. Why are you looking inside Omega?"**_

"One of the things I did back in G.U.N. was keep up with Omega's maintenance."

" _ **I see. How did Omega get this badly damaged?"**_

" _ **HE'S WHAT!?"**_ screamed Rouge.

"You can ask Shadow when he joins the conversation," said Siris as he scratched his ears, "How long would it take, Tails?"

" _ **Well… judging from the schematics I found online, the parts will both be done by the 29**_ _ **th**_ _ **at the very most."**_

Silence.

" _ **Uh, Siris?"**_

"Sorry, I've gotta ask… why?"

" _ **The composition of the metal is very specific, and it'll take me a couple of days to receive an order of that metal. Not only that, the approximations I'll need to calculate just to get the correct dimensions for Omega's part will take another-"**_

"You know what? Forget I asked. I think I get the picture."

" _ **Is that all?"**_

"For now, yes. I'll talk to you guys later."

Siris hung up and turned to Shadow.

 **(Music fades)**

"Does anyone else know or remember the Solaris incident?" he asked.

Shadow shook his head.

"Besides you, Silver, Omega, and myself, no."

"Omega remembers?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, better than anyone else. Did you talk about… you know…?"

"No."

"Are you?"

"Probably."

"Am I annoying you?"

"Very."

"Do you want some rest?"

"Don't need it."

"Yes, you do. You just spent nearly every ounce of energy just trying to defeat Mephiles. Now that I think about it, why didn't you Chaos Control yourself and Omega out of there? Why bother wasting your time and energy… and losing a huge Master Emerald fragment to Mephiles?"

Shadow glared at Siris.

 **[ Dark Ambient of 2018 ]** (Uploaded by Cryo Chamber) (1:00)

"Shadow, regardless of why Mephiles was there, we already know his end game: the return of Solaris."

"Information."

"… Okay… I'll bite; what did you learn?"

 **Are you hearing a voice from the music? If you are, you are not reading the timestamp. Go back and do it again.**

"I've confirmed that Eggman has been abducted by this 'lord', whom Mephiles does work for, and that they are in search of the Chaos Emeralds and Master Emerald."

"Tell me something I don't know," Siris replied, "Anything else? And sit down, already. I can hardly even sense your energy. You need to recharge."

"To answer your question before, I sensed a foreign power emanating from Mephiles."

"I'm assuming its other than Chaos and whatever his own energy is?"

"I'm almost certain that Mephiles was the one behind stealing the Sol Emeralds from the other dimension."

…

"Okay, we could be in bigger trouble then," said Siris, "Unless Mephiles has a Chaos Emerald, or the Lord, then that means they have managed to create a device that allows them access to all other dimensions and worlds."

"It would seem so, yes," said Shadow.

"What a _great_ world we live in," Siris sarcastically said, "Seriously, man, sit down."

Shadow just glared. Siris took a deep breath and sighed.

"Anyways, Omega's circuits are all fixed up. I'll get started on the hydraulic parts that I can fix."

Siris removed a cracked bolt and began repairing it. Shadow sat down on the bench, facing away from him. The two didn't say a word for a while.

"Two years."

Siris looked over to Shadow.

"Pardon?" asked Siris.

"Over two years… and this is what you do with yourself."

Siris glared at Shadow.

"Well, it's not too late for me to kill myself. Can we not talk about _that_?"

"… Fine."

"Good."

…

"So… what's with this 'master' business with that girl?"

Siris stopped working and slowly raised his goggles up. His head slowly turned to face Shadow. The black hedgehog noticed the faint blue aura burning in Siris' eyes.

"Are you accusing me of something?" Siris asked darkly.

"Answer the question, Siris," Shadow demanded calmly.

Siris sighed.

"Don't tell the others what I'm about to tell you. I'll tell them soon, but not now."

"…I'm all ears."

"No, you're not. You're all hedgehog and alien."

"Watch it, hedgehog."

…

"You won't say anything?"

"I'll keep quiet for now."

"Alright… here's what happened…"

Siris explained how Sylvie was brought to him and what his intentions were now that she was in his care.

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _*** October 18, 2020 ***_

 _Mobius: Unknown City_

 **[ 1 Hour of RPG Towns and Villages Music ]** (Uploaded by Derek & Brandon Fiechter) (4:20) **(Is my head on fire? Hope not.)**

It had been a long day for Silver and Blaze yesterday. They spent the whole day, and _night_ , asking around for any information regarding the emeralds they were in search for. Well, Blaze would ask about the Sol Emeralds; Silver would ask about all three. It was now morning, and the two looked like they were about to collapse and sleep on the street they were walking down.

"This is so frustrating!" Blaze exclaimed.

"Hm?"

"How is it that we haven't met a single person that knows anything about the Emeralds?!"

Silver shrugged.

"It's not like people should know at all times where they are, Blaze," he yawned.

Blaze glanced at Silver.

"How can you be so calm about this?!" she questioned him.

Silver yawned.

"I'm not," he replied, "I'm just as worried about you, if not more, than our friends."

Blaze's eyes widened.

"You're what?" she asked.

"I said, I'm worried as well, if not more, about you find the Emeralds," he replied.

"Oh," she said, turning away.

" _Phew… that was close!"_ thought Silver.

"We should get some sleep," he muttered.

"Hm?"

"Sorry, just thinking out loud. I said, we should find a place to sleep."

"Why?" she asked, irritated, "You too tired to search?!"

"Yes," Silver replied bluntly, "And so are you."

Blaze glared at the hedgehog.

"I am n-"

"You're irritated because you haven't slept."

Silver's words rang true.

"Just a nap is all, Blaze. Just for a couple of hours?"

Blaze sighed.

"Alright, fine. But only for a couple of hours," she urged.

Silver nodded. He then looked around and frowned.

"What's wrong?" Blaze asked.

"You see a hotel anywhere?" he asked.

Blaze looked around. She couldn't see one.

"Nooo… but, why a hotel? We could just rest in the park we walked by last night or just head back in the forest and rest under one of the trees."

"… Uhhh…"

" _Think, Silver, think! Last thing you need is for her to think you're a pervert! …no wait, what am I thinking?! AAAHHHH! WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME!?"_

 **I'll buy two vowels and the letters 'L' and 'V'.**

"Silver?"

"Huh? Oh, right. Well… uh…"

"Is something wrong, Silver? You've been acting strange these past few days."

"It's nothing, Blaze. I think it's just mental fatigue. I just suggested we get a hotel room so yo-eerrrrr, _we_ could sleep comfortably in a bed."

Blaze tilted her head and gave Silver a look.

"Get _a_ hotel room? Sleep in _a_ bed?"

" _Crap. Someone kill me now…"_

"For each of us, Blaze," Silver specified.

"Oh."

The two looked away from each other, hiding their blushing faces.

" _Still as naïve as ever,"_ Blaze thought.

 ***Facepalm* This is sad… no other way to put it…**

"Maybe we should ask for directions to one?" she asked.

"Huh?"

"Directions to a hotel."

"Yeah, that sounds good."

Silver turned to continue walking and accidentally bumped into a dark pastel green Mobian.

"Oh, sorry about that!" Silver exclaimed.

The Mobian laughed it off.

"No worries, dude. Accidents happen," he replied.

"Excuse me?" Blaze asked, "You wouldn't happen to know where we could find a hotel, would you?"

The Mobian turned to her.

"A hotel? Yeah, I know a good one," he said pointing his thumb behind him, "Just keep going down this street for another couple blocks and you'll see it. It's called 'The Royal Hotel'."

"The Royal Hotel?" Silver asked.

"Heh, yeah, I know; sounds like a place for aristocrats and upper-class folks. Don't worry, it has fair prices for anyone and everyone," the Mobian explained.

"We'll check it out," said Blaze, "Thank you."

"Yeah, thanks," said Silver.

"No problem. See ya around!"

The green Mobian walked away, humming a tune and tapping his thumbs on his thighs like he was playing drums.

 **Don't say anything. Shhhhh… Not one word!**

"Come on, Blaze. Let's find this hotel and get some shut eye."

"Alright, Silver," she sighed, "Let's go. Before I do something I might regret."

The two walked off in search of the hotel their green friend pointed them towards.

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ Instrumental Jazz Music for Hotel Lobby – Relaxing Background Music ]** (Uploaded by Live Better Media) (0:00)

About 10 minutes of walking later, they found the place. The moment they entered the building, Silver and Blaze were in awe and immediately knew that the Mobian wasn't lying when he said the place was good. If anything, he was underselling it. The place looked like it was fit for royalty; excuse the term. Blaze snapped back to reality.

"Come on," she told her friend, "Let's grab a couple of rooms and get some rest."

 _5 Minutes Later…_

Silver entered the hotel room and held the door open for Blaze to enter… wait, what? Uuuuhhhh… **Hold on a second, what?**

"I suppose this was bound to happen eventually," Blaze sighed.

 **WHAT!?**

"Well, we should have done this sooner," Silver noted.

 **What the fu- Is this actually happening!? What happened between now and the lobby!? No, no! Don't ruin this! I gotta see where this leads!**

"So, you wanna lie here and I'll take that side?" Blaze asked.

"Fine by me," said Silver, "It doesn't really matter which one you choose."

"… You okay, Silver? You seem a little tense."

Silver turned away to hide his blushed face.

"It's nothing. Like I said before, I'm just tired."

 **Is this really happening?**

"Well, you didn't seem that tired when the attendant said there was only one room available."

 **Wait, what?**

"I was just catching a second wind," Silver explained, "I'm just glad we got a room with two beds."

 ***Deadpan***

"It's not like there would have been something wrong if there was just one bed, Silver," Blaze said absentmindedly as she laid in one of the beds.

 **Is there hope? Will it happen!?**

"Hm? Did you say some-"

Silver stopped talking when he realized Blaze had fallen fast asleep already.

 **Me: *Gets up from chair* I'll be right back… *Rushes out the door***

 **Tails: *Shrugs***

 **Me: (From very far away) GOD… DAMN IT!**

…

 **Me: *Comes back and sits down* Sorry, I needed to do that.**

 **Tails: Uhhh… was that really necessary?**

 **Me: Yes… now, back to the story…**

Silver smiled and laid down in his bed. He stared up at the ceiling and pondered.

" _This is so… annoying! I literally have been given a once in a life time chance… well, technically for the second time, to finally tell Blaze how I really feel about… us. *Sigh* But, at the same time… I don't know if she would reciprocate those same feelings. I mean… she doesn't even remember what happened with Iblis… and how she sealed herself away into another dimension just to keep Iblis from ever returning. But, she's still the same person._

 _We somehow managed to become good friends again, against all odds of me ever seeing her again. I haven't even told her about those times before we defeated Solaris. Not that I would blame her for not believing me; I've mentioned Solaris to some of the others on occasion, but they don't remember or don't believe me. Isn't that the same thing? Never mind._

 _I want to tell her; I mean, she's the only thing I've ever had these feelings for. But… I've made myself a home here, in the… past? Present? Ugh… the point is… I'm not sure if I could leave this place just to be with her. She obviously can't leave her home and duties behind just to stay here with me. Even if she did say that she would, I wouldn't let her. If this was over a year ago, I would have given up living here just stay with her in her world._

 _But now? With what the Resistance went through dealing with Infinite? And now, with this new threat? I… don't know…"_

Silver continued to internally battle with himself until he finally fell asleep.

 **(Music fades)**

 _Later that day…_

"Silver?"

…

"Silver?"

…

"Silver!"

The hedgehog shook his head and turned to face Blaze.

"Hm? What? Blaze?"

"You were daydreaming again, weren't you?" she asked.

She and Silver were now roaming the city park, asking around for information on the Emeralds. Silver looked around. Something was… off.

"Uh, Blaze?"

"What is it now?"

"Sorry, it's just…" Silver began, scratching his head, "when did we get to the park."

Blaze sighed.

"We got her just moments ago, silly. I had to drag you out of the hotel room and all the way here, because you were lost, gazing into the distance."

"I… was?"

Blaze shook her head.

"You're so naïve, you know that?"

"Uh… Blaze, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, why?"

"You're acting a little… different."

Blaze glared at Silver.

"I'm fine. Come on! We need to find the Sol Emeralds as soon as possible!"

 **[ 528Hz | Open Heart Chakra Love Frequency 528hz Music | 528hz Heart Chakra Activation – 528hz Love ]** (ZenLifeRelax) (0:00)

Blaze began to walk off to find someone to ask. Silver caught up and walked by her side. As they walked through the park, Silver couldn't help but occasionally glance over at Blaze. He didn't know why, but there was something about the afternoon sun giving off the perfect light, making Blaze appear more beautiful than usual. Blaze was also glancing over at Silver from time to time. There were times when their eyes met.

" _That's it! I'm telling her!"_

"Hey, Blaze?"

"Yes, Silver?"

"Uh… could we sit for a second?"

"… Why?"

"There's… there's something I want to tell you."

Blaze gave him an uncertain look.

"Okay… right here?" she asked, pointing to the bench.

"Yeah… actually that would be perfect."

The two sat down next to each other. Silver remained nervously silent.

"Well… what did you want to-"

"I love you!" Silver blurted out.

Blaze stared at him. Silver's eyes glanced over to her face a couple of times as he bit his lower lip.

" _Did… I say it? Why isn't she saying something? Oh, crap, is she pissed?"_

"Blaze?"

…

"Did I… are you… I messed up, didn't I?"

…

"Look, let's… forget what I said and get back to work."

Silver stood up. He tried to walk away, but a firm grasp to left wrist prevented him from doing so.

"Stay," Blaze said softly.

Silver was still looking ahead, but his eyes widened. He sat back down and slowly turned to face Blaze.

"Say it again," she said.

…

"I… love you."

"… Silver… do you really mean that?"

"… Yes."

"… How long?"

"For a long time."

"Silver… I never knew you felt this way about me…"

Tears were forming in Blaze's eyes. Her hands went up and held Silver's head. His own hands found their way to her waist. They slowly began to lean towards each other.

"Silver…"

"Blaze…"

They closed their eyes as their heads came closer together. Their lips were just an inch away from each other.

"Silver…"

"Yes, Blaze?"

She opened her eyes and smirked.

"What makes you think I share your feelings?"

Silver's eyes shot open

"Wait, what?"

 **(Music fades into the next song below)**

 **[ Sad Piano Music (THIS WILL MAKE YOU CRY / Saddest Piano & Violin Ever!) ] **(Uploaded by JMendezMusic) (0:00)

Silver felt Blaze's hands leave his muzzle and shove him in the chest, pushing him away. He fell off the bench and to the ground.

"Blaze?" Silver asked nervously as he sat up, "Wha… what are you doing?"

Blaze laughed.

"You actually think someone as royal and important like myself would ever fall for someone as pathetic as you?"

Silver couldn't believe his ears. He initially didn't expect Blaze to feel the same for him as he did for her. But having her give him the worst false hope even imaginable and then act like this was even more devastating for Silver than the time Blaze sent herself and Iblis into another dimension.

"B-Blaze…?" Silver said, trying not to break down, "h… how can you say that? How could you do this to your best friend!?"

Blaze glared at him.

" _Best friend?"_ she taunted, "Ha! Don't make me laugh. I never enjoyed your company!"

"What…" Silver said in disbelief.

"I hate your company!" Blaze spat out with venom, "I can barely even tolerate having to be around you!"

Tears were falling down Silver's cheeks.

"Blaze… how…? I-I though-"

"You thought what!? That after all this time, even after I had sealed myself away from this world and kept Iblis away, _you_ think I owe you _my heart!?_ "

Silver's eyes widened.

"You… you remember?"

"Of course I remember, you idiot! Everyone remembers! And no one wants to remember how everything was _your_ fault!"

"… Blaze… what are you talking about? Why… why are you doing this!? This isn't like you at all!"

"What's there to get, Silver!? You were so naïve and stupid enough to believe that Sonic was the 'Iblis Trigger' and you didn't even once see if maybe, just maybe, that he was innocent!"

"But, Blaze… you also-"

"You caused the princess to be captured, not once, not twice, but _three times_! When you first saw Sonic, you just let him escape, and then again, the second time you saw him, you just went on trying to kill him while the princess was captured _right in front of you_ , and, again, the _third time_ you saw Sonic!"

"Blaze-"

"Every single time, it was you who caused this whole thing to happen! Every time Sonic saved Elise you either did _nothing_ to save her, or you prevented Sonic from saving her!"

Silver hung his head.

" _Is she right? Was this all my fault?"_

"All you had to do was _think_ before you _jumped_ to conclusions! And look what happened… I contained Iblis within myself… Sonic was killed by Mephiles… and by some God or Chaos given miracle, Sonic was revived and the two of you and Shadow defeated Solaris… only to alter the timeline."

Silver stared in horror into his hands.

"We all remember what happened, Silver! We just pretended that we didn't just to hope you would leave us all alone and go back to whatever future you come from!"

Blaze turned and began to walk away. Silver got up to his feet and ran to her; grabbing her hand.

"Blaze, wait, let me-"

"DON'T TOUCH ME!"

 ***SLAP***

Blaze's free hand spun around and smacked Silver across the face, causing him to let her go and take a couple steps back. His muzzle now had a red imprint on it that burned, even to the touch of air. Silver looked into Blaze's eyes; his filled with pure sadness and heartbreak.

"Blaze…?"

"Get this through that thick skull of yours, dumbass! _I HATE YOU!"_

Tears poured out of Silver's eyes.

"I HATE YOU! AND I ALWAYS HAVE!"

Silver shot up from his hotel bed and gasped for air. He was momentarily confused, not knowing where he was until he looked around.

"It was… just a dream?" Silver asked himself.

He realized his eyes were wet with tears.

"More like a nightmare," he muttered as he wiped his face.

 **(Music fades)**

Silver looked over and saw Blaze in her bed, still sleeping. He looked away and pressed his hands against the back of his head. He took a deep breath and sighed.

"That was the worst dream _ever_."

He got out of bed and headed for the bathroom to splash some water in his face. Unfortunately, since he was wearing his gloves, he didn't realize the water wasn't warm until it was too late.

"Oh, C-Chaos, that's cold!" he yelled quietly, trying not to wake up Blaze, "Well… I'm definitely awake now."

Silver grabbed a nearby towel and dried himself off. As he walked back into the room, he looked out the window and noticed that it was nearly noon, judging from the light outside. He then looked back at Blaze, who was still sleeping, much to his relief.

" _I should wake her now, knowing she wants to get back to the search ASAP,"_ Silver thought, _"But… I think I'll let her sleep. I need to get some air, alone, anyways."_

Grabbing a nearby pen and paper pad from the nearby complimentary tray on the table, he quickly scribbled a note and carefully placed it in Blaze's hand before quietly leaving the room.

 **[ BL2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep – Flamerock Refuge ]** (Uploaded by whoknows4682) (0:00) (Loop) **(Yes, best DLC in BL2… if you haven't played BL2, go get it and this DLC, they're AWESOME; if you have played BL2, but not this DLC… then what the flying **** is wrong with you?)**

As soon as he stepped foot outside, Silver took a deep breath and exhaled. Using his psychokinesis, he floated off the ground and began to semi-aimlessly wander around the city.

" _I suppose I could ask around for information while I'm out. Blaze would probably be irritated knowing that I didn't to do that while she was resting."_

 _30 minutes of asking for information later…_

"I'm starting to think no one around here will have any information at all," the self-proclaimed realist said to himself, "Maybe the person who took the Sol Emeralds has hidden them away."

If only he knew…

"Sure is a nice day out, though," Silver sighed as he glided up to the top of a small building and sat down on the roof, "I'll just take a quick break here."

His mind was getting a bit strained from using his powers. As he sat there, looking upon all the people moving below in the streets, Silver couldn't help but ponder.

" _It's quite surprising to see this many humans here in this city. From what I've heard from the others, not many humans used to come to Mobius at all."_

He looked around, noticing small things that most people tend to forget within a couple of minutes. Some people chatting at a nearby café; some children running through the crowd; some guy complaining about someone destroying his cart and ruining all his cabbages, really weird guy. too; some birds flying by Silver, catching his attention, as he watched them fly in circles before disappearing behind another building; some purple weasel tripping over a rock and getting his ass kicked for trying to steal from an elderly Mobian, Silver was the one who placed the rock there; and a couple sitting at the café mentioned before, enjoying one another's company and leaning on each other.

" _Those two sure seem happy to be together,"_ Silver thought to himself, _"... It sure would be nice if it were me and Blaze in their shoes."_

Silver hung his head and sighed.

" _That dream had really got me shaken up. I know it was just a dream. Yet… what if… what if I really could have prevented Mephiles from killing Sonic in the first place? Would everyone have stayed the same, with or without knowledge of the previous timeline?"_

…

" _Would Blaze still have… liked me, like she did before?"_

…

"Argh, you know what? I don't care!" said Silver, "It was just a dream! I know my friends! They care for me like they do for each other. And what happened was never my fault; it was all Mephiles' fault!"

Silver stood up.

"I'm not gonna let some nightmare distract me with 'what if's. When the time is right and I'm ready, I'll tell Blaze."

…

"Man, I must look like an insane patient talking to myself like this. Good thing no one up here to listen to me ramble."

Silver began to levitate off the ground.

"Well, break's over. Time to get back to Blaze and see if-"

Silver stopped talking when he heard something from the alley next to the building he was on.

"Huh? What's that?"

 **(Music fades, but keep the video up)**

He glided over to the side of the building that the noise was coming from. As he got closer, it began to sound more like a child crying. He looked down and saw that it was a child crying. No one was around, so Silver took it upon himself to fly down and see what was wrong. He quietly landed beside the child. Silver noticed it was a Mobian rabbit. He had chocolate (web) colored fur **(Yes, it's a color. Look it up.)** with white fur on his chest. He wore a pair of generic white and green sneakers, similar to Tails', and a navy-blue colored jacket. He was curled up against the wall with his face buried in his legs.

"Hey… you okay?"

The kid jumped a little in fright, since Silver didn't exactly make his approach apparent, and whipped his head toward Silver.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Silver apologized, "I heard you cry from nearby and I was wondering if you needed any help."

The kid didn't seem to trust Silver and he scooted a few inches away. Silver sighed.

"It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Silver took a couple steps forward and offered out his hand.

"Go away! My mama told me to never talk to strangers!" he yelled.

Silver stopped and pulled his hand back.

"Alright, alright… I'm not coming any closer."

Silver leaned his back against the wall as the kid went back to weeping in his knees.

"Come on, kid… what's wrong? Did someone bully you?"

The kid shook his head against his legs.

"Did someone hurt you?"

Another head shake.

"Are you lost?"

The child didn't give any response.

" _Aw, is that it?"_ thought Silver, _"Poor kid."_

"Were you looking for your parents?"

The kid looked over the Silver and nodded.

"Y-yeah… *sniff* I-I-I…"

He couldn't even finish giving his answer before sobbing uncontrollably. Although he was slightly annoyed by the child's inability to talk to him coherently, he was feeling immensely bad for the young rabbit's situation. He quickly flew off to the nearby café. When he felt a gust of wind blow by, the kid looked up and saw that the gray hedgehog was gone. Gone… and left him to be alone… again. He held his head in his hands and sobbed once more.

…

"Here."

The kid looked up and saw a napkin held out to him. What, did you think Silver would leave the kid? You heartless monster.

"It's a napkin," Silver explained, "I brought a few for you to use."

The kid slowly reached up and took the napkin.

"Th-thank-k-k y-y-yyyou," the kid said before blowing his nose into the napkin.

" _Wow… judging by the napkin, he must have been here for some time… how did I not notice him before?"_

 **If you're confused by the napkin, just watch "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"… yeah,** _ **that**_ **scene. No, not that scene, the one after the patty cake scene. The one where Roger is given a shot for the first time.** _ **THAT**_ **scene.**

"You want to tell me what happened?" Silver asked the rabbit as he handed him another napkin.

"Well… *sniff* My mama was taking me with her to go shopping. She gave me a big red balloon for behaving the whole time. *SNFFFF* We were *sniff* at this big place with lots of stores inside. We went inside an elevator with lots of people. I was holding my mama's hand. But… but when the doors opened, someone pushed the people into us and I was pushed out of the elevator. Mama was still in the elevator when the doors closed. Then… I saw… a guy with a gun. He looked scary. So, I ran away… and now…"

Incoming flood.

"I can't find my mama!" the kid sobbed.

Silver felt horrible. He knelt down to the kid and placed a hand on his shoulder.

 **(Go to 1:54 and continue the music)**

" _That's not right. No child should have to separated from their loving parents."_

"Don't worry, kid. I'll help you find your mom."

The kid looked up at Silver; hope shined in his purple eyes.

"You… you mean it!?" he asked, wiping his face.

"I do mean it," said Silver

"You promise?"

"I promise. Come on, let's look around for your mom."

Silver held out his hand and helped the kid up to his feet.

"Thank you, mister!"

"Call me Silver."

"I'm Jackson."

"Alright, Jackson. What can you tell me about your mom? What does she look like?"

"Well… she's a rabbit like me. She has long ears, like me. Her fur is orange."

"… Okaaaayyy… anything special about her?"

"…Ummm… nope."

"Hm… this might be a bit harder than I had hoped," Silver said to himself, "Well, come on. Let's see if we can retrace your steps."

Jackson looked at Silver with a confused look on his face.

"Retrace my steps?"

"Oh. It's just a saying. It means going back to the places you were at before."

"Oh…"

" _Yeah… should have know a kid his age wouldn't get it."_

"Okay, Jackson, ready to fly?"

"What? I'm a rabbit. I can't fly."

Silver smirked and used his abilities to levitate himself and Jackson off the ground.

"Whoa! We're flying!"

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yeah…! But I can't move."

"Sorry, I can't do much about that. But we can now fly around and look for your mom from the air."

To help Jackson understand, Silver took them both out of the alley and began flying a few feet above the street.

"Whoa! We're so high in the air!"

"Yeah we are. Now, let's see if we can find your mom."

"Okay!"

Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Blaze was beginning to stir in her sleep. She slowly rose from her slumber; stretching out her arms and yawned. She rolled her shoulders to get the knot out of her back. Blaze looked over to Silver's bed and immediately became alerted to the fact that he was no longer there.

"Silver!?"

Blaze rushed to the bathroom to see if he was there.

"Where is he?"

She brought her right hand up to scratch her ear when a piece of paper fell from it.

"Hm? What's this?"

She unfolded the paper and saw that it was a note.

" _Blaze, went out to get some fresh air. Didn't want to wake you. I'll be back by 1:00. Silver."_

Blaze looked outside. Judging by the light it was well past 1:00.

"Oh, Silver," she sighed, "where did you go?"

Not wanting to waste anymore time, Blaze grabbed the same pen and paper pad Silver used earlier and wrote a note for Silver, in case he returned before her, and left it on his bed.

"Hm… where could he have gone?" she pondered as she walked out of the room.

 _One hour later…_

Although his situation was somewhat serious, given the nature of his age, Jackson was having a blast. Not to sound ignorant to the fact that he was lost, how often does a kid like him get the chance to fly around the Mobian city with the help of a psychokinetic hedgehog? Not to mention the view of the whole city from a bird's eye view.

"Is that the mall you were at?" Silver asked.

"Mmm… no…" Jackson replied sadly.

On the downside, Silver and Jackson have been unable to find the shopping mall he and his mother were at before the young rabbit was separated from her. And the handful of people they asked if they knew of said mall were less than helpful; not that it was their fault.

"Hmm…" Silver hummed, scanning the area, "Maybe that officer could give us directions?"

The two glided over to the police officer, who was just patrolling the streets by foot. He was a bit surprised to see someone like Silver flying towards him. Likewise, Silver was a bit surprised to find a human officer in Mobius.

"Can I help you, sir?" the officer asked.

"Yeah. This kid got separated from his mother earlier and we're trying to find her," Silver explained, "Would you happen to know any malls around here, besides that one?"

The officer gave Silver and accusing look.

"Exactly how did this young kid get separated from his mother?" he asked.

Silver turned to Jackson.

"You want to tell him what happened?" Silver asked.

Jackson nodded and told the officer the whole story.

"I see…" he said, "I'm sorry to hear that. Look, Silver, I understand that you want to help this kid out, but…"

"You want me to let law enforcement handle it?" Silver finished, hesitantly.

"It would be best, yes."

The officer noticed Jackson looking disappointed. He sighed.

"However…"

Jackson's ears perked up.

"I suppose somehow with your abilities would be of great help as well," said the officer, "Tell you what; Jackson can stay by your side during this search. I'll make some calls and see if anyone knows anything regarding this kid."

"Really?" Silver asked slightly relieved, "Thanks!"

"But I want you to stay in touch with me. Do you have a phone on you?"

"I have a communicator. It's pretty much the same thing."

"That'll do. Here's my contact information," the officer said as he handed Silver a quickly scribbled note with his information.

"Thanks. Here's mine," Silver replied, writing his down on the officer's notepad.

"Alright. To answer your earlier question, there is a mall just a few blocks due north of here. Can't miss it; it's the largest building in that area."

"Thanks again, officer. Come on, Jackson!"

 **(Music fades)**

With that, the two flew off towards the mall. Once they were out of sight, the officer began making his calls, as he stepped into a nearby alley.

" _ **Go ahead."**_

"This is Echo 6," the 'officer' said in a robotic voice, "Target is heading for designated ambush site.

" _ **Excellent. Be sure to bring his feline friend there as well. But you and your squad mates are not to engage until evening."**_

"Understood."

" _ **And remember… I want those two brought in alive. Leave no witnesses alive."**_

"Understood."

The robot's holographic body briefly disappeared, revealing the SWAT-bot underneath the disguise.

 _Another hour later…_

Silver and Jackson walked out of the mall, both feeling a little down.

"I can't believe that we finally found the mall, but can't find my her," Jackson sighed.

Silver placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, kid," Silver assured him, "I haven't given up yet! We'll find her."

Jackson sighed again.

"I hope so…" he said sadly.

Silver began to wonder what their next move should be.

"Maybe we should try something different," Silver suggested.

"Like what?"

"Was your mom planning to go anywhere after shopping?"

Jackson thought for a moment.

"Well… mama was-"

"There you are!"

Silver turned to the person shouting.

" _Oops…"_

 **[ Fire Woman (In the Style of the Cult) (Karaoke Version) ]** (Uploaded by The Karaoke Channel – Topic) (0:00)

The person yelling walked over to Silver, not very pleased at him.

"Uhh… h-hey, Blaze," Silver said nervously.

"Where have you been!?" Blaze shouted, "Your note said you'd be back by 1:00! Where were you!? And who's this!?"

Silver followed the direction of Blaze's finger and ended up looking at Jackson.

"Oh, right… *ahem* Blaze, this is Jackson. He-"

"We're supposed to be looking for the Emeralds, Silver! Why would you think playing with children would help us find those Emeralds?!"

"Uh… Blaze…"

She put her hands on her hips.

…

…

…

"Well?!" she asked.

"Uh…?"

"Are you going to explain yourself or not!?"

"Oh, sorry. I thought you were going to interrupt me," Silver replied, "I was going to return, but I found this kid, who got lost, and I just wanted to help him get back to his mom."

Silence.

Blaze raised a brow.

"Is that so?"

"… Yes?"

Blaze sighed. She turned to Jackson and looked at him with pity.

"So, you need help looking for you mother, kid?"

Jackson nodded.

"Well… I suppose we could help him out," she sighed.

Silver felt a load fall off his shoulders **(but still holding a few million tons of held in feelings for Blaze)** and relaxed.

"What's your name, kid?"

"Jackson."

"Well, Jackson, I'm Blaze. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too!"

Blaze turned to Silver.

"I'm guessing you've been searching for his mother in the last couple of hours?"

Silver nodded.

"Yeah," he replied, "we were just discussing where we should go next when you showed up. What were you going to say, Jackson?"

The two looked to the rabbit.

"Huh? Oh, yeah… my mama was going to take me to the park after shopping today!"

" _Park?"_

Silver's mind began to freak out a little. His nightmare from earlier seemed to act as a prediction.

"You okay, Silver?" Blaze asked.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine."

Blaze gave him a look of uncertainty.

"Okay… if you say so."

She turned to Jackson.

"Maybe your mother is at the park," she suggested, "I think I saw one on the way over here."

Some came across Silver's mind.

"How did you find us, Blaze?"

She turned to her friend.

"Oh, I ran into a police officer. He told me about the two of you."

"Wait… he just so happened to know you and I are friends?"

"No, I literally ran into him," Blaze explained, slightly embarrassed, "I explained that I was looking for you and… well, you know."

"Ah."

"Um… can we go now?" Jackson asked.

"Yeah, let's get going," said Silver.

Blaze nodded and the three headed for the park. Little did any of them know, they were being followed.

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Mystic Ruins: Tails' Workshop_

 **[ Mystic Ruins – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

It was late in the afternoon. The workshop was completely silent; no one was there to tinker or repair machinations. The palm trees along the long stretch of land slightly swayed in the light ocean breeze. Occasionally the train from Station Square would roll by before leaving. Shockingly, even after all these years, many archeologists and researchers still explore the vast forest and the ancient ruins… so long as they don't keep getting lost, of course. But like the wind that comes and goes without warning, so did the silence as the Tornado 2 came in to land on the runway that was now activating and opening along the cliff. A few moments later, the plane's engine died down. Faint voices could be heard from outside.

"…"

"…?"

"…"

"…!"

"… -nic."

"Tails-… -base?"

The workshop door opened, and the trio entered.

"I don't know, Sonic," said Tails, "It doesn't seem like a good idea for anyone to head off to that old base in the forest. Not after what Shadow told us."

"I'm with Tails on this one, Sonic," said Amy, "I know how much you love adventure and danger-"

"And you," Sonic smirked as he tapped Amy on the nose.

"And me," she continued, slightly blushing, "but not even Shadow knows who it was down at the base. It might be best if we just continue searching for the Chaos Emeralds the way we've been doing now."

"I'm not so sure…" Sonic replied, rubbing his chin.

Tails and Amy looked at each other, confused, before looking back at Sonic.

"About what?" Tails asked.

"… ah, never mind. Forget I said that," said Sonic, "But you're right. Both of you. We should continue searching for the Chaos Emeralds."

He sighed.

"As much as I love exploring every corner of the planet, there really should be an easier way to find the Chaos Emeralds," said Sonic.

"I know how you feel," said Tails, "Even my Miles Electric hasn't been of much use. Unless the Emeralds are in space, there's practically no way of finding them."

Amy turned to Tails.

"Where in space would they even be, Tails? The Ark?" she asked.

"Uh, I was being hypothetical, but, yes, that is one possibility… if Shadow hadn't already assured us that they aren't there."

"Good point," Amy replied.

Sonic walked over to Tails.

"So, you won't be coming with us?" he asked.

Tails shook his head.

"I already told Shadow and Siris I would stay here for a few days. Besides, Siris is right; G.U.N. does not take Omega's maintenance seriously when it comes to battle repairs."

"Maybe that's the reason why he left," Sonic joked.

Tails and Amy gave him a disapproving look.

"… yeah, I regret saying that now," Sonic said nervously.

Tails sighed.

"In any case, I better get started on making those calls and working on the calculations for Omega's parts."

"Alright, buddy."

 **(Music fades)**

Tails began walking over to his workbench, grabbing a couple of tools off the ground as he walked by them. When he reached the table, he looked over and noticed Sonic and Amy were still there.

"I thought you guys were gonna leave," he said to them.

"What made you think that, Tails?" asked Amy.

"Uh… well, we were talking about searching for the Chaos Emeralds and-"

"We didn't mean that we were leaving this very minute," said Sonic.

"Oh. Then, when are you guys leaving?"

Sonic shrugged.

"I was thinking of getting some rest before heading off."

"Same," said Amy.

Sonic had an idea. He grabbed Amy's hand **(Yeah, I know, he finally got his feelings for her straightened out months ago)** and pulled her towards the stairs.

"Sonic! Where you taking me?!"

"Don't worry, Amy. I just wanted to show you something."

The two disappeared down the stairs, leaving Tails to work in silence.

"I've never been down here before…" said Amy.

The room was dark, so she couldn't see anything in the room.

"It's where I keep a lot of memories," Sonic explained as he flipped a light switch.

The room, which was much smaller than Amy assumed it was, revealed the years of memorabilia Sonic had obtained.

"Wow!" Amy exclaimed, "You kept all _these_!?"

"Yup."

Sonic released Amy's hand and watched as she slowly walked around the room; looking at everything as though she was at a museum exhibit.

"Isn't this the Bounce Bracelet Tails made for you years ago?"

"Yeah. Shame it has no use for me anymore, now that I can bounce without it."

Amy walked over to another item.

"Your Extreme Gear!"

"Yeah," Sonic laughed, "It's been a while since she's been used. Might think about joining the next EX World Grand Prix… assuming someone other than Egg-head actually hosts it."

"I think someone else _is_ hosting the next one."

"Eh… we'll see."

Amy put the hoverboard down and continued looking around.

"These sure do bring back a lot of memories, Sonic."

Sonic dashed to Amy's side.

"Any in particular?" he asked.

"Everything."

"Everything?"

Amy turned her head to look at Sonic.

"From the moment we met on Little Planet…"

"You mean you followed me to Little Planet and dove into my chest," Sonic teased.

 **[ Undertale OST – sans. Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

Amy giggled.

"Well, my tarot cards were right, weren't they?"

Sonic rolled his eyes.

"You admit that I was telling the truth about me going to Camelot, then I'll say you have magical powers, Miss Rose."

Amy summoned her hammer and held it upon her shoulder.

"Did you say something?" she asked.

"I love you and have mercy."

Amy smirked and returned her hammer to…

 **Seriously, where in the Hell does she put that thing? Her inventory? Hammer space? Someone come up with a logical reason!**

"Remember that fighters' tournament we were in?" Sonic asked.

"Yeah, and how one of the contestants used a fake Chaos Emerald to join."

"We didn't even notice until a few fights into the event. Man, were we oblivious back then."

"Then, you were in that race Eggman had set up. I remember wanting to join, but I couldn't keep up with anyone in the qualifiers."

"At the time, I was hoping that would be the last time I ever saw you," said Sonic, earning him a playful punch in the arm.

"Oh, boy, were you wrong! Do you remember that romantic day?"

Sonic couldn't help but laugh and groan at the same time.

"You and that little Flicky you named 'Birdie'? Oh my God and Chaos, that day went from bad to worse more times than I wanted to count."

"Go on~…" Amy teased, "I want to hear it from you."

"First, Eggman got his hands on the Chaos Emeralds me and Tails had after tricking Knuckles into thinking our green one was a Master Emerald fragment. Then, we had to fight Chaos in his stronger form. _Then_ , we chased after Eggman in the Tornado 1, which he managed to down, separating me from Tails. _THEN-_ are you laughing!?"

Amy was trying her best not to laugh but failed miserably. Tears were falling down her face and she was clutching her sides.

"I'm sorry, Sonic. I can't help it. It's just so funny every time I hear this story. Phew… okay… *Pffffft*… you can continue."

Sonic shook his head.

"Then… you come out of nowhere, asking me to help you deal with the bird and wanting to… what was it that you said? 'Tag along'?"

"Yes," she giggled.

"And as if my day couldn't get any worse, you were being chased by ZERO, and what did you want to do!?"

"Go to Twinkle Park."

"Go to _Twinkle Park_!"

Amy began to laugh again.

"I mean, what was wrong with that girl? Heck, what was wrong with _that GUY!?_ I should have just taken you home right there and then. But, nooooo… you wanted to go in because 'cute couples get in free'."

Sonic shook his head in disbelief as Amy held herself up by holding on to one of Sonic's shoulders, still giggling.

"So you rush into Twinkle Park, and, we're not even in the park itself yet, and you somehow managed to get separated from me! So I run all over the park, trying to find you and I couldn't find you anywhere. Then, I look for you along the entire highway system of Speed Highway. I spent _all night_ dashing around like a lunatic all over that highway trying to find you. And where do I find you? Being carried off by ZERO across the train tracks headed for the Mystic Ruins!"

Amy broke again. Sonic himself was laugh now too. After a few minutes of laughing, they finally calmed down.

 **(Music fades)**

"Man… I haven't laughed that hard in _ages_ ," said Amy.

"Same."

Amy took a deep breath and continued walking around. She and Sonic continued talking about all the adventures that had happened over the years. Some time later, Amy stopped and looked at a certain object.

"What's this?" she asked.

Sonic walked over and noticed the she was staring at a golden ring, with a ribbon-like design on it, attached to a necklace chain that hung from a nail on the wall.

"Oh, that? That was the ring Shahra gave me. You know, the Genie of the Ring?"

Amy looked at Sonic.

"You mean the time where you claimed to have gone into the world of the Arabian Nights?"

"Yeah! Remember? I told you guys about… it…"

Sonic noticed Amy's expression.

"… and you don't believe that one either, do you?"

"Nope," she replied, shaking her head.

Sonic sighed.

"What must I do to prove these things actually happened?"

"Well, you could take us to those places, for starters."

"Easier said than done…"

Silence. Sonic scratched the back of his head while Amy looked over in the corner while rocking on her feet.

"Hey, Sonic?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"I've… been thinking."

"About what?"

Amy bit her lower lip.

"About… us."

 **[ Mass Effect 2 HQ Music – Reflections ]** (Uploaded by The Pinch) (0:00) (Loop)

"Us? Like… in general or…?"

"I mean 'us' as in our relationship."

"Oh. Well… what about… 'us'?"

Amy sighed with heaviness.

"Sonic… where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

"Is this a trick question? 'Cause the answer if obviously a mirror," he joked.

"Not what I meant, Sonic."

"I know," he sighed, "Honestly… I don't really know, Amy."

The pink hedgehog turned to the blue one.

"I don't usually think about the far future. As I'm sure all of you guys already know."

"Well, at least you've acknowledged that fact. But, where do you see yourself with your friends in 10 years?"

Sonic thought for a moment about how to answer.

"Well... I suppose Tails would have kicked me out of the-"

"Sonic... please be serious for the moment."

"Alright, alright. I hope everyone is still friends, and not on Shadow's bad side. Are you asking about Siris?"

"Let's assume we know Siris and has become good friends with us."

"Same answer… So… where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

"… I was thinking… well… you know… living with you… in our home…"

Sonic tilted his head.

"… with kids?"

 ***Thud***

Amy turned and saw that Sonic had fallen to the ground. He quickly hopped back to his feet and pretended as though nothing happened.

"Uh… kids? Amy, I… eerrrr… well… isn't this a bit soon to be thinking about?"

Amy slightly frowned.

"I mean, we're just dating. And the farthest we've gone is just a simple kiss."

"On the cheek," she added softly.

"Y-yeah… I mean, it's not that I don't want to kiss you. It's…"

"You don't think we'll go beyond… this?"

Sonic couldn't think of the right words.

"It's not… I don't… maybe? No, wait! That's not it!"

"Sonic…"

Sonic stopped talking.

"If you don't think we'll be going any further… maybe we should end it now."

Sonic's eyes widened.

"What are you saying?!"

"I think you know."

"… you think… we should break up?"

Amy looked down and lightly kicked the ground.

"What do you think?" she asked.

Sonic stared blankly at her. After a couple of moments of silence, Amy turned and began to walk towards the stairs.

"Sonic, if you can't answer, then I'll do it for you-"

She was interrupted when she felt something beginning to hang from her heck. She looked down and noticed the chained ring was now around her neck. She whipped herself around and saw Sonic standing inches away.

"I don't want this to end," said Sonic.

He grabbed Amy's hands.

"Sonic?"

"I want us to be more. I'm sorry I wasn't with you these past few months. I'm sorry for always pushing you away just to keep you safe. I'm sorry for always running away."

"… Sonic…"

Sonic embraced Amy in a soft, but firm hug.

"I've always been afraid of having people too close to me; worrying that Eggman will use them against me. Remember how I said that to you during that one date?"

Sonic felt Amy's nod against shoulder and muzzle.

"I still have those fears, even now. I want you… no, I want _us_ to have more."

Amy didn't say anything and just listened to Sonic's words.

"I can't give you an answer about where I'll be in 10 years… but I can't even imagine you not being a part of it in some way."

He pulled away and looked her in the eyes.

"But I can promise you that someday, your dream will come true."

Amy's eyes widened.

"You mean…?"

Sonic lifted the ring up a little with his index finger.

"Consider this as a promise ring," he smirked before giving Amy a peck on the cheek and giving her a wink, "And you know that I always keep my promises!"

Amy glared at him.

"Really? Like the dates you forgot about?"

"I said 'promises'. I don't recall ever 'promising' to take you out on a date."

Amy smiled and shook her head.

"Always ready with excuses, aren't you?" she teased.

"So, I take it that's a 'yes' for the ring?"

"Oh, course, silly! And you better stay true to your word. Otherwise I'll make sure you don't miss a date with my hammer."

Sonic straightened up and held up his right hand.

"I, Sonic the Hedgehog, Prince of Mobotropolis, so solemnly swear…"

Amy playfully pushed him away.

"Oh, shut up, Sonic. Just because you _are_ a prince, doesn't mean you have to act like one," she teased as she began walking up stairs.

"If that is your wish, milady," said Sonic as he climbed after her.

 **(Music fades)**

Not wanting it to get annoying, Amy hid the ring under her dress. **Nope. Not one word. I don't wanna hear it. You know exactly what I- forget it, just don't.** Tails had just finished another phone call when he heard Sonic and Amy approaching him.

"Leaving now?" he asked over his shoulder.

"I… don't know. Why did we come upstairs?" Amy asked Sonic.

"I dunno," he shrugged, "I was following you."

"Really?" she asked, "Huh. How did that happen?"

 ***Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr***

Tails slowly turned his head to Sonic. The hedgehog held up his hands.

"Wasn't me!"

The two blinked and turned to Amy.

"Uhh… heh. Sorry. Guess I'm a little hungry," she told them.

"Well, I guess we now know why you came up here, then," said Sonic, "I'm actually a bit hungry myself."

"Same," said Tails, "Why don't you go run a few laps outside while Amy and I make something for dinner, Sonic?"

"Dinner? Wait, what time is it?!" Sonic shouted.

"Nearly 5:30," Tails answered, "The two of you were down there for over an hour."

"Whoops. I was planning on leaving sooner," Sonic admitted, "Wait, why do you need Amy in the kitchen?"

"Because unlike you, she can cook something that's not chilidogs," Tails smirked.

"What? Pleeease… I can cook!"

Tails and Amy smiled at Sonic.

"No, you can't," they said.

"Sure I can!"

"What can you make besides chilidogs?" Tails asked.

"Hotdogs?"

Tails and Amy facepalmed.

"Get out, Sonic," Amy shooed at him.

Sonic smirked and dashed out the door.

"Well, now that he's gone, what should we make, Tails?"

"I dunno. Let's see what we have to work with."

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 _Mobius_

 **[ Halo 3 ODST Soundtrack – Light at the End ]** (Uploaded by MetaDeadDrop) (0:00)

Evening was fast approaching, and Silver and Blaze were still no closer to finding Jackson's mother. They've been searching the entire park and asking around for hours, but no prevail. The three were now sitting on a park bench, thinking about what to do next.

"Still nothing," Jackson sighed, "Maybe I should go and wait at the police station…"

Silver and Blaze turned and looked to each other.

"I'm sure it would more comfortable if you came with us and slept in a comfy bed at the hotel," said Blaze.

"Yeah," said Silver, "Besides, we still have some time left before it gets late."

Jackson wiped his watery eyes. His eyes caught sight of something. He scooted off the bench and started walking towards it.

"Whoa, hold on there!" Silver called out, using his psychokinesis to hold the young rabbit in place.

He then released Jackson as he and Blaze walked up to him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Blaze asked.

"I thought I saw my mama over there," said Jackson, pointing in the direction he saw something.

Silver and Blaze looked where he was pointing but saw no one.

"There's no one there," Silver told him.

Jackson turned around.

"Yes, there is. She right…"

They were right, no one was there.

"Oh… I thought…"

Blaze knelt down and gave Jackson a hug.

"It's alright. We'll find her," she told him.

Silver stared at Blaze. He had never seen her like this before. At least, not after Solaris.

" _Wow… she would make a great mother… someday."_

Blaze let Jackson go and got back up.

"I'll take a quick look over there, okay?" she told him.

Jackson nodded, and Blaze dashed off to investigate if anyone was there. Silver watched her disappear behind some bushes.

 **(Music fades)**

"Is she your girlfriend?"

Silver shook his head and turned to Jackson.

"What?!"

"Is Blaze your girlfriend, Silver?" Jackson asked again.

"What? Her? No…! Why would you ask that?"

"Because you've been staring at her. Like a lot. Are you in love with her?"

Silver's mouth dropped. If it weren't for the fact that his jaw was hinged, it would have plummeted into the Earth.

"What!? No! I mean… kinda. It's… difficult to explain."

Jackson tilted his head.

"Do you like her?"

"Uh… yeah. I do like her… as a friend!"

"Why is your face all red?"

Silver turned away to hide his blush.

"It's just… hot right now, that's all."

Jackson walked around Silver and stood in front of him.

"No, it's not! It's cool outside!"

Silver crossed his arms.

"Well… maybe I'm just warm."

"Does Blaze like you?"

" _Oh, come on… why me?"_

"I guess. We are good friends after all."

"Friends? You two seem to be more than friends."

"I… well, so what if I like her?"

"Does she know?"

"Uh… well… no, not really."

"Are you going to tell her?"

"I don't know… maybe?"

"Tell me what?"

" _I'm gonna kill myself…"_

Silver slowly turned around and saw Blaze standing there.

"Uuuhhhhh…"

"We were just talking about- *mmmffff*"

Silver quickly put a hand over Jackson's mouth to shut him up.

"Don't tell her anything!" he hissed.

Blaze glared at the two children; well, the child and the guy acting like one.

"Um… is something wrong, Silver?"

Silver removed his hand from Jackson's mouth and turned to Blaze.

"Nothing. Just… look, let's just focus on finding his mother," Silver insisted, "By the way, was anyone there?"

"No," Blaze replied and then turned to Jackson, "Sorry."

The rabbit sighed.

"Now, what?" he asked.

Silver and Blaze looked at each other. They were running short on options of what they could do at this hour.

 ***CLANG***

 ***CLANG CLANG***

"Huh?"

 ***CLANG CLANG***

 ***CLANG***

 ***CLANG***

Silver and Blaze looked around and saw robots dropping in from the sky, surrounding them.

"Looks like trouble," Blaze muttered.

One of the robots approached the group. Luckily, it was getting late, so not many people were at the park. Those who were there were already running off.

"Hand over the Sol Emeralds," it commanded.

"Oh, great. Now we _know_ they mean trouble," Silver whispered to Blaze.

"Comply, or else," the robot threatened.

"Or else what?" Blaze asked.

The robot's wrist mounted lasers began to glow. A moment later, all the other robots were doing the same.

"I don't think we'll be complying," said Silver.

Jackson was terrified. Silver looked over to him.

"Don't worry," he whispered, "We'll keep you safe."

"Enough talking!" the robot shouted, "This is your final warning: give up the Sol Emeralds… or we will take you down."

Silver and Blaze looked at each other and nodded.

"What will it be, Mobians?"

Blaze glared at the robot and smirked.

"How about no?"

As soon as she said those words, Blaze summoned a huge wall of fire around herself, Silver, and Jackson.

"Fire!" the robot ordered.

Its comrades looked at him as though it had a few screws loose. It looked around before rubbing at hand on its face.

"Not the flames, you idiots! FIRE YOUR LASERS!"

The robots turned their attention back to the wall of fire and… welled fired at it. **Wow, that sounds so… strange. But also amusing.** For a few seconds, laser beams were shot through the flames and hitting targets. Unfortunately, when the flames died out a couple of seconds later, those 'targets' turned out to be other robots and the trio were nowhere to be see.

"What? Where did they go!?" the leader shouted.

"Hrrrahh!"

The robots looked up and saw Silver diving towards the ground; his hand emitting psychokinetic energy. He landed on the ground and slammed his palm into the ground, releasing a psychokinetic shockwave across the nearby area. The attack caused all the robots to temporarily cease functions.

 **[ Rival Battle – Silver (OST Version) – Sonic Generations Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Silver levitated all the robots and threw them back, across the park. Blaze and Jackson slowly levitated down to the ground. When Blaze summoned the wall of fire, Silver lifted the trio high into the air.

"Blaze! Take Jackson and get out of here! I'll deal with these balls of scrap!"

Blaze turned to Silver, looking shocked.

"What!? And leave you here alone!? Not a chance, Silver!"

"I'm not gonna risk his life by keeping him here, Blaze!" Silver argued, "Go! I can handle this!"

Blaze scoffed.

"Naïve idiot," she muttered as she turned to Jackson, "Climb on my back! I'll take you someplace safe!"

Jackson hopped onto Blaze's back and the two rushed away from the park. Silver caught sight of a few robots chasing after them.

"Not gonna happen!"

Silver flew over towards the robots. Once they were lined up in his sights, Silver unleashed a Psychic Knife attack on them **(Yes, that is an attack he has. It's from Sonic Generations.)** , slicing through all the robots and causing them to explode. A sudden laser beam flew in front of his face, giving him a bit of a scare.

"Looks like the Psycho Shock wore off," he muttered as he turned to face the platoon of angry robots charging after him.

Dashing out of another laser beams path, Silver picked up one of the robots and slammed it into another one, causing both to explode. He flew up, avoiding more laser fire, and started to grasp the situation he put himself in.

" _I may have bitten off more than I can chew this time…"_

"AAUUGHH!"

A stray laser beam hit Silver directly in the chest. With his concentration lost, Silver fell to the ground and landed on his back.

"Ooofff!"

The robots approached him while he was dazed. Silver shook his head and saw a giant metal foot hovering over his head.

"Whoa!"

 ***CLANG***

Silver rolled along the ground in time; narrowly dodging the robot stomping on his head. Silver quickly got to his feet and psychokinetically lifted the robot off the ground.

"Hyaaah!"

Using the robot like a wrecking ball, Silver swung the robot around him, crashing into all the robots. One by one, the robots fell like dominoes before exploding. Silver caught sight of the squad leader and heaved the robot at it. The leader simple stepped to the side before rushing towards Silver. Unfortunately, Silver was preoccupied with another wave of robots after throwing the 'wrecking ball' away and didn't notice the leader until it was too late. Out of the corner of his eye, Silver saw the robot leader coming down upon him from the air.

 ***WAM***

The leader was slammed from the side by an unseen force. The shockwave caused by the attack knocked Silver down to the ground.

"Need a hand?"

"Huh?"

Silver looked over and saw Blaze offering out a hand. Silver took it and was helped up to his feet.

"Incoming!" he warned.

Blaze dashed out of an incoming laser's path. Silver levitated a park bench and threw it at the shooter; nailing it right in the head, bother literally and figuratively, since a rust nail was poking through one of the wooden beams; destroying the robot. Blaze appeared beside Silver and Fire Clawed a robot trying to sneak up on Silver.

"I thought I told you-"

"Can we argue later!? We've got robots to smash!" Blaze exclaimed.

"Okay… fine!" Silver replied as he sent another Psychic Knife sailing through five more robots, "But, where's Jackson!?"

"He's safe! Don't worry, he's in good hands!"

 _Nearby…_

Jackson watched from a safe distance as he watched Silver and Blaze fight off the horde of robots attacking them.

"Don't worry," a voice next to him said, "Everything will be okay."

Jackson looked up.

"You sure?"

The officer he met earlier that day looked down and smiled.

"Of course. Everything will be just fine."

Jackson looked out to the battlefield.

"I hope you're right."

The officer walked behind Jackson.

"Oh, I _know_ I'm right," said the officer as his right arm readied to chokehold the child.

 _Back at Robots "R" Us… yeah, that shouldn't have been said, sorry…_

 _*Ahem*_

 _Back at the scrapyard…_

Blaze dashed through a barrage of robots; an aura of fire surrounded her as she decimated the machines. Silver was psychokinetically holding a seesaw, which is a miracle of its own that they still exist, and hammering robots into the ground as though they were whack-a-moles. Within seconds, there was only one robot left standing. The leader. Blaze skidded to a halt next to Silver as the two faced off the last remaining machine.

"Why not make it easier on yourself and just give up now!?" Silver called out.

The robot responded by aiming both lasers at them.

"They never make it easy," Silver chuckled.

"Ready?" Blaze asked him.

"Ready."

The robot charged the duo and fired its lasers. Dodging in opposite directions to the side, Blaze dashed toward the robot, intending to finish the battle. Silver cartwheeled to the side and got ready to do his part of their plan. Blaze was a few feet away from the robot when it fired another shot at her. Blaze fell to the ground and slid toward the robot. The machine leapt over the Mobian cat as she slid under it. The leader was about to fire again but found itself immobilized and floating in the air.

"What!?"

Blaze leapt high in the air behind it as Silver tossed the robot toward her. She somersaulted a couple of times before heel kicking the robot back towards Silver. His right hand charged with energy, Silver waited until the robot crashed into the ground in front of him before grabbing the robot's head and unleashing the energy into that metal brain.

"NNNOOOOOOOOOoooooo…."

 **(Music fades)**

The attack completely scrambled the robot's systems and caused it to shut down. Silver released his grip on the robot's head and watched as the robot fell onto its back. Blaze walked over to Silver and looked upon the defeated foe.

"Well, that was eventful," said Silver.

"Shame we didn't keep it intact, Silver," Blaze sighed, "We could have gained information from it."

Silver winced.

"Oops. Yeah… should have thought of that before…" he said apologetically.

"Don't worry, I'm as much to blame, since I didn't think about that either when we came up with the plan."

"Yeah, I guess that's fair," he said, "At least that threat is over."

"Not quite," said a voice behind them.

Silver and Blaze turned around and saw the officer holding Jackson around his arm and a hand over the rabbit's mouth.

"Hey!" Silver yelled, "What do you think you're doing!?"

"Put Jackson down, right now!" Blaze demanded.

The officer laughed.

"Oh, you foolish Mobians… when will you ever learn…?"

The officer's voice sounded different that time. Almost like he was a robot.

"… that looks can be deceiving?"

 **[ Dark Souls III Soundtrack OST – Secret Betrayal ]** (Uploaded by Shirrako) (0:00) (Loop if necessary)

"Who are you?!" Silver asked.

The officer smirked. Suddenly, his body began to distort and flicker before the hologram disappeared and, in its place, a robot, slightly larger than the ones the pair previously fought moments ago.

"Surprise," the robot taunted, "I see that my squad has failed to bring down a pair as weak as yourselves."

"Wow, if we're that weak, then your squad must have been the strongest team sent by whoever you work for," Silver quipped.

Blaze felt something strange; like an energy source was in the vicinity. Her eyes widened.

"Silver! That robot has a Sol Emerald!" she exclaimed.

Silver turned to her in shock.

"What!?"

The robot seemed slightly impressed by Blaze's revelation.

"Interesting… so you _can_ sense the Sol Emeralds when they are near your presence… Your _Highness_."

"Rrrgghh, don't call me that!"

"Blaze, not now!" said Silver.

He turned back to the robot.

"Let him go!"

"Why? He's the only leverage I have. Hmph. Let's not waste time, my lord is a very busy individual."

Silver and Blaze glared at the machine.

"So, you work for this 'lord' then?" Silver questioned.

"Of course!" the robot replied, "Who else do you think is capable of taking down so many heroes of this planet at once? Hint; it's not Eggman."

" _Heroes at once?"_

"Let the kid go!" Blaze ordered.

"Now, now, let's not be hasty," said the robot, "I'm sure we can come to an agreement, don't you? Just hand over the remaining Sol Emeralds and I'll be on my merry way. As a bonus, I'll even release the boy."

Silence fell upon the group for a moment.

"And if we don't?" Blaze asked venomously.

The robot tightened its grip around Jackson's neck, causing the boy to release a muffled scream. Tears were pouring down his face.

"Then a death will be on both your hands," the robot stated darkly.

Silver activated his abilities.

"You heartless monster!" he screamed, "I'll make sure you regret-"

"Oh, please, Silver. Your psychokinesis has no effect on me," the robot taunted as it turned to Blaze, "You can thank your girlfriend here for that. It's quite impressive what the Sol Emeralds are capable of."

"Damn you!" Blaze shouted.

Silver growled at the fiend.

"What should we do, Blaze?"

Blaze lowered her head and sighed. Silver turned in shock when he saw her beginning to walk over towards the robot.

"Blaze, wait! You can't be serious!"

She stopped and looked over her shoulder.

"We have no choice," she said as tears began to form in her eyes, "If it saves Jackson's life…"

"No! There must be another way! We can-"

Blaze held a hand up and Silver stopped talking.

"It's fine, Silver… just… let me do this. I'm… sure we will… find them again."

Silver did nothing as he watched Blaze turn back and walk toward the robot.

"That's close enough," the robot said once Blaze was a little more than half the distance from Silver, "Place the Emeralds on the ground and walk away."

Blaze hesitated.

" _Now_ " the robot warned her as he added more pressure to Jackson's neck.

Blaze sighed and pulled out the blue, red, and violet Sol Emeralds. She slowly placed them on the ground and backed away.

"Very good… keep walking," the robot ordered as it began to move toward the Emeralds.

By the time Blaze reached Silver, he noticed that her eyes were pouring out tears. He felt sick just seeing her like this. He turned back to the robot; rage fueling his heart and growing by every passing second.

"Very good," the robot teased as it stood over the Sol Emeralds, "Now, I will take these with me."

Jackson screamed in the robot's hand again as the arm around his neck tightened yet again.

"… along with the boy."

Horror fell upon Blaze's face.

"WHAT!? I THOUGHT WE HAD A DEAL!?" Silver bellowed.

"Oh, did we? I guess I lied."

The robot scooped the Emeralds up in one arm and began to back away. A dark swirling portal appeared behind the robot.

"Thank you for you generous offering, you two! I'll be sure to put in a good word for you to my master!" the robot laughed, "Farewell!"

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ Phantom Power Music – Sweet Revenge (Epic Intense Action) ]** (Uploaded by Mr. Fancy Pants) (0:00)

The robot turned around and began to enter the portal. But, a sudden force from behind prevented it from moving.

"What?"

The robot tried again and again, but it couldn't move. It looked down and realized that Jackson and the Sol Emeralds were the reason for him not moving. It also noticed that they had a certain fluorescent blue shade surrounding them.

"You're not going anywhere," Silver growled.

Summoning all his strength and willpower, Silver yanked Jackson and the Emeralds out of the robot's possession; he even tore off the arm that was around Jackson's arm. Good thing the psychokinesis had prevented that arm from doing more damage to his neck.

"WHAT!?"

Within a millisecond, Blaze had reignited her aura and boosted right into the robot, sending the two into the ground, with Blaze on top. **Please don't, this is a very serious scene.**

"WHO DO YOU WORK FOR!? WHERE ARE THE OTHER SOL EMERALDS!?" she screamed as she began to beat the ever-living hell out of the robot.

The robot refused to answer as she sent a flamed fist into the robot's chest and ripped out the yellow Sol Emerald from within. She tossed it over her shoulder in Silver's general direction before resuming the beating.

"Begone!" the robot shouted, using its still attached arm to smack Blaze off, sending her flying in the air.

"Blaze!"

Silver flew up and caught in his arms. He rushed over to where he laid Jackson down and gently put her on the ground as well. The hedgehog turned toward the robot, which had just gotten back up onto its feet.

"Hrrraaahh!"

Silver flew straight into it and sent the machine flying a few feet into a tree. Looking around the vicinity, Silver began levitating all the robot remains scattered on the ground and threw them at the true squad leader.

"How can you be so cruel and heartless!? What madman would allow creations like you do such heinous acts and not be remorseful!?" Silver asked between throws.

The leader managed to catch one of the thrown scrap heaps and heave it back at Silver.

"Ooff!"

Silver landed a few feet away before getting back up and charging at the robot. The one-armed enemy readied itself for Silver, but it wasn't prepared for another attack from Blaze, who kicked the robot in the back and sent it flying towards Silver. The psychokinetic hedgehog punched the robot across the face, sending it flying in the opposite direction, back to Blaze. She dashed into the robot and sent it flying straight up, where Silver slammed another robot body down upon the leader and sandwiched it between the ground the and metal carcass. The leader began to pick itself up from the mess.

"I will not tolerate such-"

 ***WHAM***

Blaze boosted into the robot again, sending into the same tree from before. Sadly for the tree, the second impact was enough to cause the tree to break off from the impacted area and fall to the ground. The robot, which fell to one knee, looked and prepared to attack. As it rose, the tree was swung like a club and sent the robot skidding across the ground, and occasionally tumbling as well. Blaze went in for another dash attack on the downed enemy, but the robot had recovered and swung its arm at her.

 ***WHAM***

Blaze rocketed over the ground and crashed into Silver, knocking them both to the ground.

"This is getting out of hand," the robot muttered as it struggled to walk into the portal.

Silver looked up from the ground.

"No! Stop!"

But it was too late, the robot had escaped, and the portal had vanished.

 **(Music fades)**

"Shoot," Silver muttered as he slowly got to his feet.

He looked over and his heart sank; Blaze was lying motionless on the ground.

"Blaze…?"

Silver kneeled beside her and was relieved when he heard her faintly breathing. He carefully picked her up with his psychokinesis and walked over to Jackson, who was rushing over to him with the four Sol Emeralds in hand. He would have flown, but his body and mind were too tired to allow any more than one object to be lifted.

"Silver!" Jackson cried out as he stopped in front of the hedgehog, "Are you alright?"

Silver carefully put Blaze down in a comfortable position on a small hillside and sat down next to her. He looked over at Jackson.

"Yeah… I'm fine… just a little sore," he told the kid.

The murmuring of the nearby surrounding crowd got their attention. Silver sighed.

" _Here comes the applause."_

And on cue, they crowd began to applaud and cheer.

"Uuhhh…"

Silver and Jackson looked over and saw Blaze coming around.

"Uugghh… my stomach…" she moaned as she sat up and placed a hand over her midsection.

She turned and saw Silver looking at her.

"S.. Silver? What's wrong?"

"Blaze!" the gray hedgehog exclaimed as he leaned forward and hugged her, "You're alright!"

Blaze was a bit surprised by Silver's sudden act. It took her a moment before she hugged him back.

"I'm fine, Silver. Are you okay?"

"… yeah. I'm fine."

…

"For a moment, I thought you were gone…" he whispered.

"… I'm right here, Silver. I'm not leaving you."

Hearing that made Silver's heart skip a beat and put a small smile on his face. The two pulled away moments later. Blaze looked around, looking concerned.

"Where's the robot?!"

Silver shook his head.

"Gone. It escaped."

Blaze's eyes widened.

"The Sol Emerald…!"

"Don't worry," said Jackson, "all four are right here. See?"

Blaze shook her head and put her fists against her temples.

"No, I sensed _another_ Sol Emerald inside that robot!"

"Wait…" said Silver, "Are you saying there were _two_ Sol Emeralds in that robot?"

"Yes!"

"… I'm sorry, Blaze… I couldn't stop him."

Blaze scoffed and looked away.

"I'm sorry! I tried to stop it, but…"

"… I'm not mad at you, Silver. I'm mad at myself."

"Huh?"

Blaze turned back to Silver, revealing the tears in her eyes.

"I had the chance to regain two Sol Emeralds… and I screwed it up!"

"Blaze…"

"No, Silver! It's fact! I messed up! I failed to reclaim one of the Emeralds _and_ we… _I_ let the enemy escape. A valuable source of information for not only myself, but for everyone! You, Sonic, Shadow, everyone! We could have learned so much… and it got away."

"Blaze… stop it!"

 **[ BL2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep – Flamerock Refuge ]** (Uploaded by whoknows4682) (1:54)

"… What?"

"Stop doing this to yourself! Why can't you let someone help take the blame?! It's just as much my fault too, you know! If anyone is to blame for letting that machine escape, it should be me! You were knocked unconscious. I saw the robot escape myself. You couldn't have done anything."

"But… if I hadn't been unconscious…"

"Then maybe we would have gotten the other Sol Emerald, I know. But obsess about 'what ifs'? What if you were killed?! Do you think I would have been able to forgive myself for that!?"

"Silver…"

…

"I'm sorry. I just don't want to see you beat yourself up over and over about being a failure when you're not! You are one of… Heck, you _are_ the strongest woman I've ever met! So, please… stop feeling upset with yourself. Be proud of what you have accomplished, not what you think you should have been expected to accomplish."

"… You mean that?"

Silver smiled.

"Every word."

Blaze smiled back and wiped her face with the back of her hand.

"Thanks, Silver."

Silver nodded and slowly got to his feet. He noticed Blaze was having trouble getting up on hers, so he offered out his left hand. She gladly accepted it with her right and he helped her up.

"Thanks, Sil- Woah!"

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ Kanon OST 2 Yume no ato ]** (Uploaded by KyonxNagato) (0:00) **(Yeah, yeah, I've seen both anime versions… and both seasons of Clannad… and Little Busters!... and cried at certain points. Don't judge, you have no right unless you've seen them! Even then you wouldn't judge me!)**

Blaze got the heel of her right shoe caught on a tree root that grew out of the ground and fell forward against Silver. Time seemed to slow down as he caught her, but something unexpected happened. Jackson witnessed the event unfold in front of him while he stood there in slack-jawed amazement and dropped the Sol Emeralds to the ground. Blaze was leaning against Silver; her right hand against his chest, his hands on her shoulders, and…

 **(Wait until 0:30)**

" _Is this…"_ thought Silver.

"… _really happening?"_ thought Blaze.

 **(Wait until 0:44, you can thank me later)**

… their lips were lightly pressed against each other. Without even thinking, they both closed their eyes as Silver's hands slid down to Blaze's lower back. To them, it felt like fireworks were going off in their hearts and that the moment was lasting for an eternity.

 **(Just let the music and the image set in for a moment. Once you feel envious or nostalgic or overjoyed… or just want to get on with the story, you may fade the music away and continue reading.)**

 **(Music fades… IN CASE YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY!)**

 **[ BL2: Tiny Tina's Assault on Dragon Keep – Flamerock Refuge ]** (Uploaded by whoknows4682) (0:00) (Loop)

In reality, the kiss only lasted for at least eight or nine seconds before Blaze regained her footing and the two pulled away from the kiss. They both stared into each other's eyes; both at a loss for words and blushing as red as roses.

"… Uhhh…"

"… Uh… Uhh…"

Silver realized his hands were still around Blaze, and her hand on his chest, before they jolted back a step.

"B-Blaze, I- I'm SO sorry! I-I-I didn't mean-"

"No, it was my fault! I-I tripped on something and…"

Blaze stopped talking and put her hands over her mouth. She and Silver looked around in total embarrassment of having this happen to them with a crowd watching. It took them a couple of seconds to get their attention on a certain young rabbit, who was now giggling and pointing at them.

"Hey! Stop that!" Silver said loudly.

"Why? What's wrong with kissing a girl?" Jackson asked innocently.

"We didn't kiss!" Silver exclaimed, "We just… accidentally bumped our heads together!"

He turned to Blaze.

"Right…? Blaze?"

She couldn't respond as she was still too stunned by what had happened.

"Blaze?"

"Jackson!" a voice cried out.

The trio turned to face the person who called out to the child. They saw a web orange colored rabbit rushing from the crowd.

"Mama!" Jackson shouted as he ran to the rabbit.

The two met somewhere in the middle and embraced, tightly holding one another and crying. Silver and Blaze made their way to the happily reunited pair. The rabbit reluctantly pulled away from her son and looked him in the eye.

"Are you alright, baby?"

"I'm fine, mama. These two helped me," he replied, holding his hand out in Silver and Blaze's direction.

The rabbit turned the them and shook their hands.

"Oh, thanks you both so much! How can I possibly ever repay you for finding my boy?"

"Oh, there's no need for that," said Silver, "I'm just glad we finally got him back to you."

The rabbit turned to Blaze.

"What about you, honey? I'm quite well connected with many people. I'm sure there is something we could-"

"No, please, I insist you don't," Blaze interrupted, "Like my friend said, we're just glad you have your son back."

" _Friend?"_ Silver thought, feeling a bit disappointed.

The rabbit sighed.

"Well… then consider me in your debt,' she said, "If you two happen to cross paths we me again, I'll be sure to return any favor you ask."

Silver and Blaze thought for a moment and looked at each other before turning back.

"I suppose that's acceptable," said Silver.

"We'll take that deal," Blaze smiled.

"Aw, thanks, lovebirds," the rabbit teased, causing the two to blush and look away from each other.

The rabbit giggled as she picked up her son.

"Well, I suppose we should get going," she said.

"Aw, mama! Do we have to?"

"Now, Jackson. It's getting late, and the last thing I want is to have another heart attack over losing you again."

"Yes, mama," Jackson sighed.

He turned to Silver and Blaze.

"Goodbye, Silver. Goodbye, Blaze."

Silver walked up and ruffled the kid's fur on his head.

"So long, Jackson. You stay out of trouble, huh?"

"I will."

Blaze came up next.

"Fair well, Jackson. Behave around your mother, okay?"

Jackson put a finger on his chin and smirked mischievously.

"Only around my mother?"

Blaze smiled and shook her head.

"You know exactly what she meant, mister!" his mother scowled.

She turned back to the duo.

"Thanks again for saving my son. I hope we meet again."

Silver and Blaze nodded as the rabbit turned and walked away. They waved goodbye to Jackson, who waved back, and didn't put their hands down until they were out of sight. Silver sighed.

"Hey, Blaze?"

"Let's get back to the hotel," she said flatly.

Silver turned to her, slightly surprised. He was about to say something, but Blaze had already dashed off for the hotel. Silver sighed again and flew off after her.

"Jackson, did that weasel hurt you at all?" his mother asked him as they exited out of the crowd of people.

"No. He had a gun, but I ran away as fast as I could."

"That's my boy," she said, kissing him on the cheek, "I'm more glad that you got away from that no-good, double-crossin', lousy, stinkin' weasel than be harmed by him."

"I think I saw a picture of him once before… was his name like Mac or something?"

"It's Nack. Nack the Weasel. But no one calls him that, he's widely known as Fang the Sniper. If you ever see him again, you run away like you did today, alright?"

"Yes, mama."

"Good boy."

"But mama… I didn't like being lost and away from you."

"Aw, sugar, come here."

Jackson clung onto his mother like she was going to be taken away from him.

"I'm not leaving you anytime soon, alright?"

"Yes, mama."

"Hey, you found him!" a voice behind them shouted.

Jackson and his mother turned and saw two Mobians walk up to them.

"Oh, there you two are! I was just thinking about contacting you two. And, yes indeed, my little baby is back with his mother!"

"Mama, please… can't… breathe…"

"Oh, sorry, baby. I keep forgetting about my arm's strength now and again," she chuckled.

"One of these days, you might accidentally crush him, Bunnie," the green hedgehog joked.

"Maybe I should practice controlling my strength on you, sweetie!" Bunnie teased.

The hedgehog's comrade gave him a look as he shrugged and grinned nervously.

"Back to the subject," she said, "I'm glad you found him safe and sound, Bunnie."

"Oh, I didn't find him, girl. It was a gray hedgehog and a mallow mauve cat who found him. And brought him to me."

"What the heck is 'mallow mauve'?" the hedgehog asked.

"It's a pale purple color," his friend explained, "Come on, you've seen a mallow flower before, haven't you? In the garden?"

"Maybe? Wait… a gray hedgehog and a purple cat? I met those two this morning!"

"You did? Where?"

"Not far from the city gates. They asked for directions to a hotel. Uh… shoot, which one was it!?"

"Don't worry so much 'bout it," said Bunnie, "Oh, look~; little Jackson has fallen asleep."

Jackson was lightly snoring as his head laid on his mother's shoulder.

"Well, it is getting late. We should all head back and get some sleep," their partner suggested.

"I'm down for some sleep," said the hedgehog," Come on, I know a shortcut."

"Oh, boy," the other two muttered as they followed him.

 _Back at the hotel…_

Silver entered the hotel room and found Blaze already there; not much of a surprise to him. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, looking down and fiddling with her fingers. Silver took a deep breath and calmly walked over to Blaze.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?" he asked.

Blaze didn't respond, let alone look at him.

" _Should I just tell her now?"_

"Look… I know it what happened back there was… weird. But, I want you to know that it was-"

"Just an accident," said Blaze.

"... Uhhh…"

"That's what it was; nothing more than an accident," Blaze stated as she looked over to Silver.

"Uh... Well… yeah. That's what I was gonna say," he said.

"… Good. Glad to see that we're on the same page," said Blaze.

…

"So… I guess we should get some rest, huh?" said Silver.

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Right… well… 'night, Blaze."

Silver laid down in his bed and psychokinetically flipped off the light switch. Blaze laid down in hers.

"Good night, Silver," she muttered.

The two were facing away from each other, so they didn't notice that the other had tears in their eyes as they drifted off to sleep.

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

' _Lord's' Base_

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) (Loop)

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

"Sir?"

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

 ***WHAM***

…

…

…

"Unbelievable. Inconceivable. Unforgivable."

Mecha Sonic made some incoherent noises.

"Silence!" the Lord ordered.

An eerie silence fell upon the chamber, pleasing the quiet Mephiles who was standing nearby. The Echo Squad leader stood before its lord, nervous about what would happen to it.

"You and your squad had one simple task," the Lord explained calmly, "You were to neutralize Silver the Hedgehog and Blaze the Cat and bring them both to me, along with the remaining Sol Emeralds. You were informed that the guardian of those Emeralds is incapable of harnessing the power of the Sol Emeralds unless she had all seven in her possession. You had two Sol Emeralds powering your weapon systems. Not once did you engage them."

"My lord, please! Allow me to explain!"

"… Very well. Proceed," the Lord sighed.

"It was never my intent to displease you, my lord. I only refused to use the Sol Emeralds you have graciously entrusted to me to prevent detection. I was fully aware that Blaze was capable of sensing the Sol Emeralds within a certain range."

"That's not good enough!"

"My Lord… please… forgive me!"

"Enough! I hereby order that you are permanently decommissioned and stripped for parts!"

"No… no! Please, have mercy!"

Mecha Sonic began to approach the squad leader. The entryway doors slid open and a red eyed figure entered the room.

"One moment, Mecha Sonic," the Lord ordered, "It would appear that our friend has returned."

Metal footsteps grew louder as the unexpected guest approached. They stopped just before the light illuminated from above.

"Metal Sonic. What a nice surprise. I wasn't expecting your repairs to be complete for another month."

"I've been… upgraded," he replied, surprising everyone in the room.

The Lord leaned back in his thrown and nodded.

"I see. Very good. This is very good, Metal Sonic."

"I overheard that an order for execution was given to this SWAT-bot?"

"You heard correctly."

The SWAT-bot began to panic again.

"My Lord… My Lord, please! Just give me another chance! Have mercy! Please, I beg you!"

The Lord gestured Mecha Sonic to move away.

"You wish to redeem yourself?" he asked.

"Yes, my Lord."

"Hmm… perhaps I will show you mercy."

"My Lord. Thank you! I promise to never disappoint you again!"

"Oh, I have no doubt about that. And, as a good show of my mercy, I will let Metal Sonic show you the power he now harnesses. Perhaps it will show you what you could have done."

"I would be honored."

Metal Sonic stepped into the light, revealing a slightly darker shade of blue in his metal and a slightly taller frame.

"What would you have me do, my Lord?" he asked.

…

…

…

"Do your worst on this fool," the Lord replied, pointing at the SWAT-bot.

Before the SWAT-bot could react, Metal Sonic shoved his right hand through the robot's back and ripped out the white Sol Emerald that was still housed inside it. The Lord, Mephiles, and Mecha Sonic watched as Metal Sonic annihilated the SWAT-bot for a few moments before there was nothing was bits of metal and sliced wires spread across the ground under the now flickering light. The Lord gave a slow applaud to his subordinate.

"Well done, Metal. I must say, your performance was quite… fascinating."

"Consider it a demonstration of a small portion of my power," Metal Sonic replied as he tossed the Sol Emerald to the Lord, "I'm afraid I didn't do my worst, as you had asked."

"That'll suffice, Metal Sonic… Now then, I have a mission for you."

"All of us, my Lord?" Mephiles asked.

The Lord turned to Mephiles.

"Not you, Mephiles. Your battle with Shadow and Omega has given me another idea I wish to speak with you about. And you, Mecha Sonic, I want you to continue your search for the remaining Chaos Emeralds and bring me more shards of the Master Emerald. I will speak with you about that momentarily."

The Lord turned back to Metal Sonic.

"Your mission, Metal Sonic, is to meet with some new… acquaintances and help convince them to join our cause."

"Location?"

"You will be provided with the intel soon. I just want to let you know that you have permission to use any means at your disposal to persuade them."

"Understood."

"That will be all for now, Metal Sonic."

"… No…"

"No?"

"Not Metal Sonic…"

Metal Sonic levitated a couple of inches of the ground. From his palms, blue electricity crackled, arcing into the metal floor and ceiling high above.

"I am no longer 'Metal Sonic'… I am once again Neo Metal Sonic."

 **(Music fades)**

 ** **" *~*~*~*~*~***** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********* ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~***************** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~********************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **~*~*~*~*~************************* "****

 **Me: Man, I am a mean person, huh?**

 **Tails: What? With the bittersweet endings?**

 **Me: Yeah…**

 **Tails: Maybe it's a good thing Silver and Blaze didn't show up.**

 **Me: I wouldn't be too sure about that.**

 **Tails: Why?**

 **Me: At least here, if they read this chapter, I would be able to easily protect myself.**

 **Tails: *chuckle* You? Protected from Silver and Blaze?**

 **Me: You'll understand eventually.**

 **Tails: Let's assume that I do right now… How does Silver and Blaze not being here make any difference?**

 **Me: Like I said, if they were here, I can protect myself. Once they read it out there, they'll come out of nowhere and catch me off-guard.**

 **Tails: … Ooohhh…**

 **Me: Yeah… so, next time, make sure no one is around when I write the next chapter… or two… *gulp***

 **Tails: Duly noted.**

 **Me: In any case, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! I'll see you next time!**

 **Tails: So long!**

 **Me: Remember to Follow and leave a Review!**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **This chapter was pretty good. I wanted to do more for the Shadow vs Mephiles fight, but I couldn't really think of anything good. But I'm sure you can guess some possible fights in future chapters.**

 **So… yeah… Silver and Blaze. Silver x Blaze. Silvaze. Hope, uh… hope you guys aren't up in arms with pitchforks and torches over the slight bashing I faked… in the nightmare.**

 **But, hey… I made them kiss, didn't I? So… do I get another chapter to live? Or two? Or 5000, which is probably how long this whole thing will end up being. Heh heh… *sweats nervously***

 **Anyways, I'm sure you guys are like, "What!? Bunnie is in the story!? I thought he wouldn't add those characters!" Look, I said I wasn't going to make them MAJOR characters… I think… I don't care, I'm gonna go with that. I want to make something very,** _ **very**_ **clear: THIS IS NOT AN ARCHIE SONIC FANFIC. That being said, I have some possible ideas using certain elements from the Archie comics, which I have never read, nor do I have any plans to read them. Because I'm lazy. What, gonna sue me?**

 ***Ahem***

 **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. As a little sneak peak for the next chapter, all I'm gonna say is this… it involves rivals. Nothing more to add. Please leave a review and follow the story. I'll see you guys next chapter!**

 **P.S. I hope everyone had a Happy Holidays and have a Happy New Year! See ya in 2019!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	7. Chapter 7: Something's Stirring

**Silver: Are you sure this is where this guy lives?**

 **Blaze: That's what Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles claim.**

 **Silver: Let's be honest, Blaze… you kinda forced it out of them.**

 **Blaze: Oh, be quiet and help me find this guy.**

 **Me: (Whispering) Sssshhhh… readers, don't tell them I'm here. Apparently, those two found out a lot sooner than I expected. I'm gonna try and get through this chapter as fast as… *Phew*… they're gone… for now… I'm gonna get through this chapter as fast as possible. Hopefully this won't be the last, in case I die. Anyways… story, disclaimer, yadda yadda yadda, let's get to it.**

 **Silver: (Distant) Maybe he's in the pantry?**

 **Me: Please don't find me…**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **Wow... managed to get this written in less than two weeks... Cool.**

 **Okay, so… I suck at determining how long each part is. I do. I was hoping to get further story-wise with this chapter than I planned and, oh boy, was I WRONG. So, there will be rivals in this chapter, but not as much as I was planning. On the plus side, you get a longer story. The down side, this chapter is mostly filler. Damn it… Sorry. But don't you worry. I'll make up for the lack of anything exciting happening with an awesome battle next chapter. IT WILL HAPPEN.**

 **Also, got my first review! WHOO! I wanna shout out to Rowan Jacobs for the review; I'm very grateful and pleased that you love the story so far. And don't worry, there will be fluff and angst (isn't that an oxymoron? *shrugs*)… and perhaps more. Hint hint, wink wink. But nothing too graphic. Can't afford to have this be rate M at this point, now, can I?**

 ***Deadpan* Don't answer that.**

…

 ***Pulls out nuclear bazooka* *Demonic voice* I MEAN IT…**

 ***Puts weapon away… for now…***

 **Also, just so we are clear, there will be no bashing in this story… besides Fang's skull, but that's another topic itself; there's no bashing of any kind… well, at least** _ **real**_ **bashing. And this isn't an Archie crossover either.**

 **Anyways, on to the main event!**

…

…

…

 **Why are you still here? Go read the chapter.**

…

 **What?**

…

 **You want to know what the "crossover" game is? Now?**

…

 **Too bad! I'm not gonna reveal that spoiler until… well, let's just say the chapter I reveal it in will be very… very… very… very dark. Like borderline M rating dark. But that won't be for a LONG time.**

 ***Update 1/15/19* - Minor changes.**

 ***Update 1/26/19* - Minor changes again.**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

Chapter 7: Something's Stirring…

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _*** October 19, 2020 ***_

 _Tails' Workshop_

"Wow," said Sonic and Amy.

"I told you Siris wasn't kidding when he said Omega would need a lot more than some TLC," said Tails as he continued inspecting the damaged robot.

 **[ Marvel's Spider-Man (PS4) – Oscorp Research Station Mission Theme 1 ]** (Uploaded by xXSilentAgent47Xx) (0:00)

It was around 6:30 AM in the Mystic Ruins and it was just moments ago that Shadow teleported Omega and himself to Tails' workshop to get him repaired. While Siris was able to repair nearly all of Omega's circuits and software components, he gave up on trying to patch up Omega's armor and other mechanical issues due to the lack of time to focus on it, and meet with his patients, and take care of Sylvie; which was probably the most important; and get some sleep; when his nightmares decide to give him a break. Shadow arrived, said a couple of words, and then teleported away. Business as usual with him.

" _ **I'm still on call you know,"**_ Siris yawned from Tails' communicator.

Tails shook his head.

"Uh, right! Sorry, just a little surprised by… _this_ ," the kitsune explained, "I've never seen Omega like this before."

" _ **Join G.U.N. and you won't be surprised for long,"**_ said Siris.

"He got damaged that often?" asked Sonic.

" _ **Not to this extent, no, but there have been times where Omega would need some extra repairs. Guess it comes with his 'destroy all Eggman robots' purpose he made for himself, or something. I dunno."**_

Sonic whistled.

"No wonder Shadow is always in a cheery mood," he joked.

" _ **Sonic… come on. That's a bit low, don't you think?"**_

"… yeah, you're right. I take that ba- wait, how do you know about Maria?"

" _ **Who?"**_

"Maria Robotnik?"

" _ **There's another Robotnik!?"**_

"I guess you don't know…"

" _ ***Pfft* I'm messing with ya; yeah, I do know about Maria. And again, used to work for G.U.N.; comes in handy when looking up information."**_

The trio opened their mouths.

" _ **Don't ask."**_

They sighed.

"You worked all day _yesterday_ doing these repairs?" Tails asked Siris, changing the subject.

" _ **Well, not all day. I had to take a nap yesterday. And I had some overactive patient claiming to have an emergency that I had to deal with."**_

"Your clinic's open on Sundays?" asked Tails.

" _ **Only for emergency cases, yes. Other than that, it's my only day off during the week. That being said, I'm not usually extremely busy during the week."**_

"How come it took you so long to do these repairs?" Sonic asked.

" _ **Physically repairing Omega is fast. Repairing the damaged components take a bit of time; you can't force the laws of physics to bow to your every whim… I think. Mobian abilities seem to defy some of those laws. Anyways, yeah, repairing damaged parts take time and ordering replacement parts take… well, literally an eternity."**_

"I know that feeling," Tails muttered.

" _ **In any case, what's your guys' next move?"**_

"Well, Tails will be staying here to fix Omega. Sonic and I will be looking for the Emeralds… _somewhere_ …" Amy explained before trailing off.

" _ **Does this 'somewhere' have a specific destination?"**_

"Eeeeeuuuuuuhhhhh- no," Sonic admitted.

"We haven't really thought of where we should search next," Amy explained.

" _ **Do you want the list chronologically or alphabetically? Green Hills, Marble Zone, Chemical Plant Zone, the Forbi-"**_

Siris stopped himself midsentence, but Sonic's eyes had already widened.

"Wait, you know about L-"

" _ **Sonic, shush! Remember what I told everyone the other night? Someone might be listening!"**_

 **Anyone who gets that reference gets a chocolate chip cookie.**

Sonic, Tails, and Amy gave each other confused looks.

"By that logic, Siris, shouldn't we not be talking about our next place to search?" Amy asked.

"… _**good point. *sigh* This would be so much easier if we could hear Tails' idea… IN PERSON, mind you."**_

"Well, he told us his idea," said Sonic.

" _ **Define 'us'."**_

"Me and Amy."

" _ **Is it a good plan?"**_

"Very."

" _ **Are saying that because your biased?"**_

"Nope."

" _ **Good enough for me then. Tails, have you gotten a chance to look at that robot I demolished back at the clinic?"**_

"There was nothing I could find. Anything that could have helped were either smashed by you or too damaged by an explosive failsafe for recovery."

" _ **And here I was hoping to avoid a grand adventure…"**_

"… _ **-ster?"**_

The trio heard someone in the background of the call followed by what sounded like Siris wincing with annoyance.

" _ **Oh! I'm sorry… I… I'll just…"**_

" _ **No, it's okay, Sylvie. I was just talking to Sonic and Tails and Amy."**_

"Hi, Sylvie!" Amy called out cheerfully into Tails' communicator.

Siris groaned.

" _ **Amy… please, not so loud. I don't want another headache to flare up."**_

"Oops, sorry."

Siris said something to Sylvie, but the others couldn't make it out.

" _ **Eh… h-hello, Amy,"**_ Sylvie said nervously.

"Hi, Sylvie. How are you doing?" Amy asked.

" _ **Uh… I'm fine…"**_ Sylvie replied timidly.

"I've been wondering… where did you get that _adorable_ dress?"

" _ **Eh…"**_

"I mean, someone has some great taste. I was thinking about getting something for myself, because-"

" _ **Amy?"**_

"- I've been wearing this red dress for years now, occasionally wearing something else for special occasions-"

" _ **AMY!"**_

"What?"

" _ **You're making Sylvie anxious again,"**_ Siris explained politely.

"Oh… sorry, Sylvie."

" _ **I'm… okay."**_

" _ **How about the next time you're in town, I take you to the place, Amy?"**_ Siris suggested.

Amy beamed.

"Really!?"

" _ **As long as you don't make my ears bleed, or my head split open, yes."**_

"Awesome!" she whispered loudly to herself, "You've got a deal, Siris. You're awesome!"

" _ **Don't. Just… don't. You're just setting yourself and everyone else up for disappointment."**_

"Disappointment?" asked Sonic, "About the shop?"

" _ **About me; whenever we get around to the big ol' Q &A you guys are getting ready for me. Remember?"**_

"Oh, come on, Siris. I'm sure you had your reasons for doing… whatever it was that you did," said Tails.

"… _**Let's talk about something else. Actually, scratch that; I have to see a patient in a minute."**_

"Are you serious?" asked Sonic.

" _ **No, I'm lying just so we can end this conversation… Yes, I'm serious!"**_

"Geez, sor-ry!"

" _ **I'll talk to you guys later."**_

Tails ended the call and continued to work on Omega.

"He sure sounded annoyed," said Tails.

"Maybe he's just tired," said Amy, "He did say he needed a nap yesterday."

"Maybe," said Tails as he reached for a wrench lying next to his foot.

"We should get going as well, Sonic," said Amy.

He nodded and turned to Tails.

"You sure you'll be fine all alone here, buddy?"

Tails looked over nodded.

"I'll be fine, Sonic. Besides, I've managed well enough these past few months alone, didn't I?"

"True… but that was before some world dominating wannabe put his plans into motion," said Sonic.

"Good point."

"Are you sure-"

"Sonic, I'm not a kid anymore. I can handle myself. Besides…"

Tails tilted his head over to the Cyclone, or informally known as the Tornado 3.

"… if trouble does show up, I'll be ready."

"Alright… you be careful Tails."

"You too, Sonic."

Sonic turned to Amy and smirked.

"Shall we?" he asked.

"Of course," she replied.

Sonic snatched her up in his arms, carrying her bridal style, causing her to shriek a little in joy. Amy turned her head towards Tails.

"Bye, Tails. See you soOO-"

Before she could finish her farewell, Sonic dashed out the door and was out of sight. Tails shook his head as a sonic boom crashed in the air.

"Always the impatient one," he sighed.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Siris' Clinic_

 **[ Free Mood Music | Soundscape Background Music – 'Into Uncertainty' ]** (Uploaded by OurMusicBox) (0:00) (Loop)

Siris sighed sarcastically as he printed out some lab results of a patient's drug test. She came in yesterday complaining about spotting **(look up this medical terminology if you want)** , which turned out to be a result of a miscarriage of a pregnancy she conceived a couple of weeks ago. However, she claimed to have had no sex in over year, ever since she divorced her husband. She also had a strange colored spot on the side of her neck, which she assumed could have been a sign of leukemia. Oh, the internet is such a wonderful tool. ***Rolls eyes*** However, as a medical professional who actually went to medical school and graduated, Siris had only one prognosis: hickey. Again, the patient denied ever having sex. So, to be sure, Siris had a hair sample sent… well, not really sent, he actually ran over to Spagonia, which was only half an hour away by foot, for a speedster, and had a hospital there do a drug test.

And now, here she was… in patient room number three, the second door on the left down the hall… awaiting the results. Siris wrote some notes down in the patient file and slipped the pen into his coat pocket before entering the room.

"You have restored my faith in the human race, Felicia," he told the young woman with short blonde hair who was sitting in one of the chairs.

Felicia was wearing an aquamarine colored tank top and a business jacket and business pants along with black heels. She smiled; certain that she had been right.

"You're lying," said Siris.

Felicia's smile instantly dropped

"No! I'm not lying!" she insisted.

Siris opened the patient file and laid it on the counter.

"I just got your results back," he explained as he double checked the results, "There's no signs of drugs; no GHB, no alcohol, nothing."

He looked up and saw her shocked face.

"It means you're having sex and you're lying about it."

"No!" Felicia exclaimed as she stood up, "And I have a new symptom."

She scoffed.

"I have a rash… on my _butt_. Hmph."

She sighed as Siris gave her a look.

"Do you wanna…?" she asked, gesturing to her rear.

Siris gave her a soft nod. Felicia sighed as she turned around, unbuttoned her pants and lowered them enough for Siris to see the rash.

"What is it!?" she demanded.

"It's a carpet burn," Siris answered.

Felicia turned her head.

"No! It can't be!" she exclaimed as she pulled her pants back up and turned around, "Doctor… I _love_ sex! I miss it! I haven't had _any_ in over a _year_."

Siris stared at her for a moment, thinking of all the possible explanations.

"Well," he sighed, "you managed to keep this appointment, so there's no short-term memory problem. Multiple personalities?"

Felicia shook her head with confusion.

"Do you find yourself losing chunks of time? Do you wake up and not remember falling asleep?"

"N-no… I just wake up… really exhausted."

"Something upsetting you?"

"… No," she replied with hesitation before giving Siris an unconvincing smile.

Siris gave her another look and slightly tilted his head. Felicia sighed.

"My ex… lives in the apartment downstairs," she explained, "He's always calling me. Always wanting to get back together; complaining about 'mixed signals'. 'Get out of my life!', how much clearer can you get!?"

Siris just stared as a small smile crept over his face. He cleared his throat and blinked a couple of times.

"Okay… I might have an idea of what the problem is," he explained.

Felicia raised her eyebrows and listened.

"Do you or anyone in your family have any history of sleepwalking?"

Felicia was a bit surprised.

"Uh... y-yes, actually. I started to sleepwalk about a year ago and my regular doctor has been giving me a prescription since then for it," she explained.

"Can you tell me exactly what it is that he prescribes you?"

"I… don't know the name, he told me it's just sleeping pills."

"… sleeping pills?"

"He thinks I'm sleepwalking because I wasn't getting enough sleep, which sounds funny to me."

Siris nodded and licked his lips.

"I think it's safe to assume that you've been sleepwalking," he said.

"But… but how can that be?" Felicia asked, "I thought-"

"There are three types of sleeping pills; one that helps you fall asleep, one that helps you stay asleep, and one that does both," Siris explained, "Do you know which type you've been taking."

Felicia thought for a moment.

"I'm not sure… I know it's to help me stay asleep, but I don't know if it helps me fall asleep though."

Siris bit the side of his lower lip and nodded.

"Yeah, I was starting to think that was the case," he told her, "While it's a misconception that sleeping pills cause people to sleepwalk, which is rarely the case, the more common causes are sleep deprivation and stress; and since you've already been treated for the sleep deprivation, there's only one remaining cause."

Felicia sighed.

"So… I _have_ been sleepwalking? Because my ex has been stressing me out?"

"That appears to be the case, yes."

"That would explain why I've been feeling so tired when I wake up," she concluded.

"Yes," said Siris, "And also why you were pregnant."

Felicia looked at Siris, completely confused.

"And the hickey…" said Siris, "and the carpet burn."

Felicia's eyes widened.

"I had _sex_ … in my _sleep_!?" she exclaimed.

"Sexsomnia is a documented disorder," said Siris.

Felicia looked around in disbelief.

"You said your ex-husband lives downstairs-"

"I'll kill him!" she said sternly.

Siris stared and nodded.

"Okay… but he probably didn't know you were asleep," he explained, "People who sleepwalk can act pretty normal when they are sleepwalking. I'm gonna write you a prescription for a low dose antidepressant."

Siris pulled out his prescription pad and pen and began writing.

"It'll help you sleep better at night, and hopefully lessen, if not stop, the frequency of you sleepwalking. If you want to save yourself the 10-ring copay, you can have sex while you're awake," he quipped as he handed Felicia the prescription.

She was at a loss for words.

"He's my ex… I-"

"You live in the same building, you haven't had sex with anyone else for a year; you sleepwalk right into his arms."

Felicia gave Siris a look.

"Call me crazy," he said, raising a brow, "but I'm suspecting unresolved issues."

Siris got up and left the room. Felicia looked down at the prescription in her hand and back at the door. She embarrassingly smirked to herself as she began to think about how she was going to deal with her ex.

 **I don't own House M.D. and, yes, sexsomnia is a thing. Look it up.**

Siris walked over to his desk and began writing in the patient file again. Moments later, he heard a door open and saw Felicia walking towards the tiny lobby.

"Thank you, doctor."

"Just doing my job," he replied, "And please don't kill you ex. I'm sure he'll do that himself once you tell him what has been happening."

Felicia smirked and shook her head before she walked out of the clinic with the door closing behind her. Siris sighed.

"Humans and Mobians are strange creatures," he muttered to himself.

 **(Music fades)**

Siris arched his back and stretched out his arms, letting out a small groan. He relaxed back into his chair and checked the time.

"11:30, and there are no other appointments until 1:30… I guess I could spend some time training out back."

Siris got up and headed out the clinic door. He reached over and grabbed a sign that read 'Out back' and hung it on the handle outside. A moment later he was behind the house, setting up some more bottles and cans on the bench. He looked over to where the dummy was only a couple of days before.

"Hmm… maybe using the blue color power was a bad idea..." he moaned, staring at the splintered remains, "Oh, well. Live and learn."

He then hummed a bit of the tune. **You know which tune.**

"Alright… now which color should I practice with today…?"

…

"Eh, let's mix things up. I'll just practice with just the grapples."

Standing a couple dozen feet away, Siris pulled out his goggles and slipped them over his eyes. The smile that was on his face turned into a small frown.

"Of course the thing needs to be charged," he muttered, "*sigh* Screw it, I'll charge it later."

He put his goggles back into his inventory and got himself into position. When he decided which container would be the first sacrifice, Siris flicked out his right arm toward the target and shot out his grapple. The wire went straight toward one of the aluminum cans and pierced the metal surface. Siris grabbed the wire with his right hand and yanked the can towards him. The can flew across the air before Siris yanked the wire again, dislodging the wire from the can, and backflipped above the ground, kicking the can straight up into the air. Siris landed on his feet and threw wire back up into the air, straight towards the can. Once again, the wire embedded itself into the can. Siris gripped the wire once more and yanked the can straight down, slamming it into the ground. The wire retracted, leaving the can stuck in the ground.

"Not too bad… could have reacted a bit faster after the landing though…"

Siris sighed and got ready for another offering to the gods-eerrrr, practice shot at one of the containers. Time went by and the number of targets left was slowly diminishing. But about three or four practice strikes into the training, Siris couldn't help but think back to the fight Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix told him and the others about, with the pilot of the machine back in Adabat.

 **[ (3) Pure Snows – AIR Piano Arrange Album Re-Feel ]** (Uploaded by Uzlad) (0:00) (Loop)

" _As I tore away at the machine's, my Scope scanned something inside the robot. It turned out to be a huge colony of captured red Wisps,"_ Rouge's voice echoed in his mind.

Siris' left wire whipped across the air, shattering three bottles in milliseconds.

" _The container was made of some kind of super hard material; almost like diamond!"_ Knuckles' voice echoed.

Siris punched a can with his right fist after using his right wire to pull the object towards him.

" _They managed to free the Wisps. However, some of us were knocked unconscious when the pilot of the machine used Chaos Blast,"_ said Espio.

" _It grabbed one of the Wisps that knocked it to the ground."_

" _We managed to free it..."_

" _We watched as another Wisp flew down and saved Knuckles."_

" _There were human remains inside the pilot's armor."_

" _The red Wisp that helped Knuckles win the fight…"_

" _The pilot had an explosive device within his body. He was about to send us all to the afterlife… when…"_

Siris felt a tear fall down his cheek as the voices repeated over and over in his head, overlapping, until it all stopped, and one last voice spoke in his mind.

"… _The Wisp left Knuckles' body and entered the pilot's. It gave its life to save ours."_

In a small fit of anger and sadness, Siris attempted to launch both grapples at two targets at once. When his grapples didn't make contact with anything, he turned and noticed that he had already gone through all the bottles and cans he set up. After staring dumbly at the bench for a couple of moments, Siris shook his head and retracted his wires.

"Oh, Flames…" he sighed, wiping his eyes, "Why did it have to be like this?"

He took a step back to prevent himself from falling over. Taking a deep breath, Siris looked down at his hands and formed them into fists.

"No more…" he muttered, "I can't wallow in self-hate and pity."

Siris lowered his hands.

"I promise… you will be avenged."

Siris looked out into the forest and admired the view.

"Someday…"

A small movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Siris whipped his head to the right and saw some curtains quickly closing from within his home.

"Hmph," he muttered with a smiled, "Guess Sylvie got curious… again."

It had been a little more than a week since Fang **(aka Asshole McGee)** had brought Sylvie to Siris as a 'gift' for saving him. And within that short period, Siris had felt his heart fall into his nut sack one too many times; although she hadn't been very detailed in her experiences at the Hemberg Estate, the short discussions were enough for Siris to get a good idea of what had happened to her. And yesterday was a bombshell; bittersweet, in retrospect.

 _*** Yesterday ***_

Siris and Sylvie were talking while having lunch in the kitchen. He had just finished explaining how it was that he managed to finish school, college, and medical school in such a short period of time.

"Master must be very intelligent to be able to do that," said Sylvie before she took another bite of her muffin that Siris bought for her from the café.

"Well… yes, I guess you could say that," said Siris, slightly blushing.

He wasn't one for boasting about his intelligence, but it wasn't like he wanted to be one of the smartest people in the room. Of course, he was curious to see what he could learn from Tails, and he from him, if they did become friends.

" _Yeah… friends…"_ he thought sadly as he looked down at his empty plate.

"Master?"

Siris looked up.

"Hm?"

"Is something wrong?"

"Uh… I was just wondering…"

"Eh…?"

" _Shoot, what should I ask her?"_

"Master?"

Siris slightly panicked.

"Were you ever sexually abused?"

…

…

…

 **What… the Hell… was that!? Jeez, 'slightly panicked'? My ass. God, what was- forget it, let's just get this over with.**

…

" _I'm officially going to Hell,"_ thought Siris, _"… in about 30 seconds."_

Sylvie stared at Siris with wide, terrified eyes.

"Wh… why are you asking?" she asked, visibly shaking.

Siris mentally strangled himself.

"I… Sorry, I… I didn't mean to ask that…" he said sadly, lowering his head in shame.

He could still see Sylvie's hands on the table, shaking.

"Are you… going to use me for… pleasure, Master?"

" _Shit… now I've done it…"_

Siris looked up.

"No, Sylvie, that's not what I-"

He noticed Sylvie's head was hanging low.

"If… that is your wish… then…"

"Sylvie… stop. I never meant..."

Siris' stopped talking when he saw the tears the fell from Sylvie's face.

"I understand…" she said softly.

"Huh?"

Sylvie looked up and Siris wanted to blow his brains out; the expression on Sylvie's face was the most heartbreaking thing he had ever seen in his life. And he's gone through a lot in his life. Sylvie got up and walked over to Siris. She knelt beside him and began crying harder.

"You… only gave me… false hope… just so-"

"Stop!"

Siris slid from his chair, shoving it away, and got down on one knee in front of Sylvie. Before she could react, Siris had his left hand on her right shoulder and his right hand was gently patting her on the head.

"Sylvie… no. Absolutely not!"

Sylvie stared at Siris with shock, tears still falling.

"M… Master?"

"I'm sorry I asked that question. I don't… I have no intentions of doing anything like that to you."

…

"I made you promise… and I intend to keep it. Sylvie… I will never, _ever_ harm you. So, please… please don't… think like that… Please?"

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I'll… try."

She opened her eyes and gave Siris a tiny smile.

"Okay," he sighed as he pulled his hands away.

He got up and picked up his plate before taking it to the sink.

"No."

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"What was that, Sylvie?"

She was still sitting on the floor when she said something Siris couldn't hear because it was so soft.

"Sylvie?"

Siris walked over and knelt back down beside her.

"No. I... wasn't sexually abused…" she said shyly.

Siris stared at her for a few moments before sighing in relief.

"Thank… God," he exhaled.

Sylvie looked up, slightly puzzled.

"Master?"

Siris got up and offered out his right hand.

"I'm just glad you weren't… you know… taken advantage of in some lewd way, Sylvie," he explained as he helped the poor girl up to her feet, "And… again, sorry for making you anxious like that. It wasn't my intent to ask that question; it just came out because I've been wondering that for the past week."

Sylvie nodded.

"I understand now… thank you… for helping me understand."

Siris ruffled the fur on her head.

"You're welcome. Why don't you finish your lunch; I have to get see a patient in the clinic in a minute. Okay?"

Sylvie nodded.

"Okay," she replied.

Siris turned back to the sink to quickly wash his plate.

" _Well… at least she was spared THAT trauma. *sigh* I'll talk to her a little more about this tonight; wouldn't want her to think I have those kinds of… thoughts."_

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** Present ***_

Pulled back to reality, Siris took another glance over to the window and noticed Sylvie looking away and letting the curtain fall back into position. Siris smiled and shook his head. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind.

" _You know… although that blue dress looks great on her… I should probably buy her another dress, as well as a couple of nightgowns. Winter is fast approaching, and the house doesn't have much in terms of a heater, save for the fireplace… I guess now would be the best time to take her shopping."_

Siris checked the time on his communicator.

"Hmmm… I think another 15 minutes of practice wouldn't hurt before I take her shopping again."

Siris frowned.

"Especially since Mephiles is back," he muttered, "… _somehow._ "

 _17 Minutes Later…_

Sylvie was just finishing the last load of laundry when Siris entered the house. She exited the laundry room, or closet, technically speaking, and walked up to Siris.

"Were you… training outside?" she asked innocently.

Siris smiled.

"Well… I think we both know the answer to that, Sylvie; you were watching me through the window."

She had a faint blush on her face as she lowered her face.

"Sorry, Master. I was just…"

Siris patted her on the head.

"There's nothing wrong with you watching me practice."

He kept patting her on the head for a few seconds. Sylvie looked up, not sure how to react.

"… You like strange things, don't you?" she asked.

Siris shrugged.

"Who says you're strange?" he asked.

Sylvie lowered her head again. Siris was a bit surprised when he heard a soft sigh come from her mouth. Worried that he may have hit a nerve, Siris pulled his hand away. They awkwardly stood there for a moment.

"Master… could I ask you something?"

"Sure, Sylvie. Ask me anything."

She slowly lifted her head until she was looking at his face.

"Will I have another opportunity to accompany you when you go shopping?"

Siris smiled.

"Funny you should ask that; I was about to take us over to Aurelia's store," he said.

"Eh…? Why? Is this dress…?"

Siris shook his head, still smiling.

"No, Sylvie," he chuckled, "I was thinking about buying you another dress for you to have. And a couple of nightgowns for you to sleep in… which I probably should have gotten you the first time we were there."

"Oh…"

"Sooo… wanna come along?"

Sylvie stared questionably at Siris before nodding.

"Lead the way," she said softly.

 **[ Clannad Soundtrack: Track 12 : Country Lane ]** (Uploaded by talesfan132) (0:00) (Loop)

Siris held the door open for Sylvie as they left the house. Once everything was locked up, they began their trek towards town. Siris kept a pace slow enough so that Sylvie would remain by his side; after the little workout earlier, he had a bit of energy left in him. He kept himself in check, so he wouldn't accidentally start leaving Sylvie behind.

About ten minutes later, they had arrived at Aurelia's discrete clothing store. Siris held the door open for Sylvie and followed her in.

"My my, welcome," Aurelia greeted them, "Please feel free to look around."

Aurelia was wearing a white gothic off-shoulder dress with a dark brown corset and long white sleeves attached. Upon her head was the same hat, only it was white and, instead of feathers, had different colored roses attached.

"Hey, Aurelia," said Siris as Sylvie moved to his side and began following him down the aisles of clothing.

" _Hmm… I wonder what we'll find here…"_

Siris looked over to Sylvie.

"Why don't you choose the dress yourself, Sylvie?" he suggested.

She looked up at him in surprise.

"M-me?"

"Sure. Why not?"

Sylvie blushed.

"Well… I'm sure you would know best, Siris…"

Siris sighed.

"I don't want to buy you something that _I_ like. I want to buy you something _you_ like."

Sylvie looked around nervously before looking back into Siris' eyes.

"I… Thank you…"

"There's no need to thank me, Sylvie. Why don't you look around, while I…"

Siris stopped talking when he noticed that there was someone else in the store besides himself, Sylvie, and Aurelia.

"You've _got_ to be effing… _kidding me_."

Aurelia was talking to said person, who was directed to Siris when Aurelia nodded in his direction.

"Well, fancy meeting you here, Siris~"

Siris looked back at Sylvie.

"Sylvie, go look around for a dress that you like. I'll be talking to some friends of ours."

Sylvie nodded and began looking along the aisle for a dress; it was as though she was exploring a cave, looking in awe among the hundreds of crystals that had formed along the wall. Siris turned back to the person that called out to him.

"Of all places… how did I run into you _here_ , Nephy?"

The heterochromatic eyed hedgehog practically glided over to him.

"Aw, what's wrong? Worried that I might embarrass you in front of Sylvie?"

"It's not like she and I are dating, Nephy."

"Really?" she teased, "Then why is the slave you saved from that jerkoff, Charles, living with you?"

Siris leaned to the side so he could see past Nephy and face Aurelia.

"You're a bad, bad woman, you know that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Siris," she replied in her usual seductive voice.

"I, uh, I don't think we can be friends anymore."

"You don't mean that," she teased.

"I am officially going to strangle you two if you keep doing this to me."

"Siris~… you _do_ care about Sylvie~!" Nephy teased.

"I will probably kill myself and take you girls out with me."

"Including Sylvie~?" they teased.

Siris sighed.

"You wouldn't do that to her, would you?" asked Aurelia.

Siris made a gun gesture with his right hand, pointed the barrel to his temple, and flexed his thumb, resulting in his brain blown out, in his imagination, of course. He also did the sound effect of the gun himself, just to be over-theatrical. This only amused Nephy and Aurelia, making them giggle.

"What did I do in a previous life to deserve this?" Siris asked out loud, looking up to heaven, "How many puppies and kittens was I horrifically cruel towards to deserve this?"

"You think _this_ is bad?" asked Nephy as she watched Siris look around, hoping Sylvie was not close by to hear.

"Why are you here, Nephy?" he asked as he turned back to her, "Aren't you supposed to be working right now?"

Nephy sighed.

"I was earlier," she explained, "but one of the customers got a little… _frisky_ … and accidentally tore one of the sleeves of my uniform."

It took Siris about half a second to put two and two together.

"Let me guess… Aurelia is the one who made the uniform?"

"Yup~!" Nephy sang.

" _That explains where she got the uniform a few months ago,"_ Siris thought to himself.

"Alright, all the quipping aside, why are you still here? You're wearing a spare uniform; shouldn't you be getting back to work?"

"Why?" Nephy asked, putting her hands on her hips, "Can't a girl make time to chitchat?"

"Not when you have a job to do," Siris muttered, rubbing his forehead.

Nephy smirked as he turned on her heels and headed for the door.

"But~… you're right; I should be getting back to the café, before my boss gets all grouchy and impatient," she said as she opened the door, "I'll come pick up the shirt later, Aurelia!"

"I'll be here all day, sweetie."

Nephy turned to Siris.

"Have a nice time with your _girlfriend~_ ," she teased.

Siris deadpanned.

"Nephy, if you think me dating someone as young as her is okay, you may have a psychological problem."

Nephy was already gone halfway through his statement and his words became meaningless. Siris shook his head.

"Well…" said Aurelia, "that was quite the entertainment."

Siris shifted his deadpan to her. He just shook his head.

"Excuse me? Siris?"

Siris turned around and saw Sylvie standing behind him.

"Hey. Did you find something?" he asked.

Sylvie nervously fidgeted with her fingers before answering.

"Umm… I… did find a dress that looks nice. But…"

She became a little nervous.

"But what, Sylvie?"

"… I… didn't like the color."

"Oh. That shouldn't-"

"It's fine," said Sylvie, "I'm fine with just this one dress I have. You shouldn't have to buy any more for me."

…

"… like I deserve to be happy," she accidentally added quietly.

Siris was about to reply but Aurelia beat him to it.

"Sylvie, I have plenty of other color options for everything I sell," she said, "Why don't you show me the dress you want, and I'll take you in the back and show you what I have in store."

Siris turned to the saleswoman.

"Really? That would be great," he said to her.

Aurelia noticed Sylvie blushing, making her smile a bit bigger.

"Of course, I wouldn't want my _favorite_ customers to be unsatisfied now, would I?"

She walked over and took one of Sylvie's hands.

"Show me the dress you wish to purchase," she said seductively.

Sylvie hesitated for a moment before nodding and leading Aurelia back to where she found the dress. Siris took the opportunity to glance around the store for a nightgown for Sylvie to sleep in.

" _Hmm… now that I think about it… I'm actually a bit surprised by the wares Aurelia is selling… wonder why she isn't selling-"_

His train of thought halted when he found the nightgowns.

"Ah, these are perfect!" he exclaimed quietly.

The nightgowns were just simple silk nightgowns; nothing flashy or revealing, as they went down to about knee length, in comparison to Sylvie's height. They were sleeveless, but Siris didn't care. He picked out a uranium blue colored one and a fern colored one.

" _Why is it that yellow never looks good on most clothes?"_ he wondered.

"Ah, find something else to buy?"

Siris turned around and saw Aurelia glancing at the gowns he was holding.

"Yeah, I figured I should- Oh, dear God," he replied as his face warped into a look of horror.

For once, Aurelia's smile softened, and she expressed a bit of confusion.

"Is something wrong, Siris?"

Siris began the blush a deep red.

"Uh… well, I didn't realize this at the time… but… uh…"

"But what? Out with it, Siris."

Siris looked around the store and behind Aurelia, making sure Sylvie wasn't around. **Wow, twice in less than 10 minutes. Way to go, chief.**

"I, uh… You wouldn't happen to sell… women's… underwear… would you?"

Aurelia gave Siris the most unnerving smile he'd seen in years from her.

"What are-"

"Just tell me if you do, Aurelia."

Aurelia giggled at Siris' embarrassment.

"Have no fear, Siris. I'll go grab a couple of the same kind I gave Sylvie the first time you two purchased the dress here."

Siris sighed as Aurelia walked past him to grab the garments in question.

"Thanks, Aurelia. Glad that- wait, what do you mean same kind you gave Sylvie before?" he asked as he turned back to her.

Aurelia didn't stop walking as she glanced over her shoulder and gave Siris another unnerving smile. Realization hit Siris like a freight train. He could do nothing but shake his head very slowly in wide-eyed disbelief.

"Why should that surprise you?" Aurelia asked as she grabbed some items from a shelf, "Surely you should have known Charles wouldn't care about what the poor girl wore under those rags."

"Aurelia… just... just stop. Let's just leave this topic alone, okay?"

Aurelia walked over to the counter and placed some white bikini panties **(Not swimsuit bikinis; those are different)** and some white t-shirt bras into a small black bag. Unfortunately, Siris saw both items and the realization freight train just went full speed in reverse and ran over Siris again.

"She's a size AA, so-"

Siris held up his right hand to stop Aurelia's explanation.

"I… don't… need… to know."

Aurelia smirked.

"Why? Did you forget that she's a lady? I know her chest appears flat, but…"

"Aurelia… I will burn this store down if you don't shut up," Siris said as calmly as possible.

"Very well," she sighed.

Siris walked over to her and handed her the nightgowns.

"It's not like there's anything wrong with someone having small breasts," he muttered to himself.

"Pardon?" Aurelia asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Nothing," Siris replied, probably a bit too quickly.

"Um… Siris?"

Siris turned around and saw Sylvie holding something in her hands.

"Is… is this alright?" she asked timidly with her face blushing.

The dress in her hands looked similar to her blue apron one; only it had no apron, no sleeves, and it was an irresistible color. **The color is really called 'Irresistible', look it up.** It had three small ribbons along the midsection going up, and a larger ribbon right below the collar. The bottom two ribbons were a jazzberry jam color while the top two ribbons were a pink sherbet color.

"Is this the dress you want?" Siris asked.

"If… it's alright with you…"

Siris smiled and took the dress from her.

"I think it looks wonderful, Sylvie."

He handed it to Aurelia, along with his item box of rings. **What, thought I'd forget about that?** Once the purchase was made, Aurelia placed the dress and gowns into a larger black bag and handed them and the item box to Siris.

"Have a nice day, Aurelia," said Siris.

"I shall await your next visit with bated breath," she replied.

Siris rolled his eyes and gestured his head for Sylvie to follow.

"Thank you, Aurelia," she said to the blonde.

"My pleasure, sweetie."

Siris held the door open for Sylvie as they left. Aurelia watched them until they were out of sight. She let out a soft chuckle.

"He seems so much happier now."

Sylvie peeked into the large bag.

"Light and shimmer clothes. There are lots of ribbons, too… cute," she said as she looked up at Siris, "Thank you very much."

Siris looked over and saw a smile on Sylvie's face; making his heart skip a beat.

"You're welcome, Sylvie."

As the two walked home, something came across Siris' mind.

" _Did I forget to charge my goggles?"_

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _G.U.N. Headquarters Infirmary_

 **[ Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack Mars Ambient ]** (Uploaded by JIDE0) (0:00) (Loop)

"Alright, Agent Rouge, you're all set and ready to return to duty."

"Thank you, doctor," said the white bat.

Rouge got up from her seat and left the examination room. Stretching her arms out, Rouge made her way down the hallway towards the room Knuckles was in. She and Knuckles and the Chaotix arrived at G.U.N. Headquarters a few hours after Shadow reestablished contact with everyone. Once he had dropped Omega off at Tails' workshop, he went back to searching for the Emeralds; only this time, alone. He wouldn't disclose his intended destinations due to the possibility that communications were compromised.

Meanwhile, Rouge, Knuckles, and the Chaotix went to the infirmary to get their injuries treated. The Chaotix left hours ago after they were treated for minor injuries and, like Shadow, didn't disclose where they were heading over the communicators. Rouge had a couple of more serious injuries; a couple of contusions on her legs and one of her wings needed to be wrapped in bandages, meaning she couldn't fly for the next few days. As for Knuckles…

"GET THAT SYRINGE AWAY FROM ME BEFORE I TEAR YOUR ARMS OFF!"

… let's just say that the doctors haven't given up on trying to treat his injuries… after… 12 hours… ***sigh* Unbelievable…**

"NO, I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! NOT UNTIL YOU STOP TRYING TO STAB ME IN THE ASS WITH WHATEVER THE HELL THAT STUFF IS!"

"Oh, boy," Rouge sighed, "Here we go…"

 ***WHAM***

"Better go in there before he hurts someone," she muttered.

Rouge opened the door and was… well, not really surprised; more like she saw _exactly_ what she was expecting. The four doctors in the room were trying, and failing miserably, at holding down Knuckles and keep him still just long enough so they could inject him with a sedative. Shockingly, Knuckles was able to corner the four doctors into a corner before throwing the bed at them. It didn't crush them, not that he was intending to do so, but the posts did get imbedded in the perpendicular walls, trapping the doctors behind the bed.

"You know they're just trying to help you, Knuckles," said Rouge.

The echidna glared over at Rouge.

"How does forcing me to take unnecessary drugs help me exactly!?"

"Well, for starters," she explained, "it would help prevent you from injuring yourself any further than you are… _were_ before."

Knuckles rolled his eyes and pushed pass Rouge as he left the room. She followed close behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"Not back there, that's for sure," Knuckles retorted, throwing his hands in the air angrily.

Rouge caught up to him and grabbed him by the shoulder, turning him so they can face each other.

"Knuckles, I listen to me!" Rouge said sternly, "I know you're still beating yourself up over that Wisp's death, but it needs to stop!"

Knuckles glared at her. He opened his mouth to say something but couldn't when Rouge put a finger over his lips.

"No, you don't say _one word_! I know it hurts! But you need to move on and push through the pain! You think we lived just so we could wallow in self-pity and shame!?"

Knuckles swiped her hand away so he could respond.

"And how would _you_ know what it's like, Rouge!? When's the last time you ever mourned for _anyone_!?"

 ***SLAP***

Knuckles was stunned, and slightly hurt, by Rouge's hand flying across his face. As he slowly turned his head to the left to face Rouge, he saw pain in her eyes; pain he had only ever seen her have once before. Knuckles sighed and hung his head.

"Right… The Ark… when Shadow…"

Rouge breathed deeply through her nose, holding back the tears.

"Yes," she replied, "when Shadow almost died stopping the prototype from destroying the world."

They stood in silence for a moment.

"How did you deal with the pain?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge smiled as she gave the echidna a hug. Knuckles wasn't sure how to react; his arms remained by his sides.

"I had a friend by my side," she whispered.

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** 1 Month After the Ark Incident ***_

Rouge silently landed a few feet from the bridge that lead to the Master Emerald shrine. She may be a secret government agent, but she was still a thief at heart; her attraction to jewels and gemstones was just too great a motivator for her to completely give up the life. It was a little past midnight, which was perfect for Rouge; makes things easier for her to steal the Master Emerald compared to a month ago. Only difference was that this time, she wasn't attempting to steal it, she _was_ going to steal it. At least, in theory.

"Hmm…" she hummed as she scanned the shrine with her Treasure Scope, "looks like the red guardian is nowhere to be seen. Guess it's time for me to collect what's _mine_ and be on my way."

Rouge leapt into the air and flew over the gap separating the shrine from the rest of Angel Island. There was still no sign of a certain red echidna, so Rouge landed right before the Master Emerald; bathing a bit in its light.

"Hello, darling~," she said to the Emerald, "Did you miss me?"

"Neither of us did, bat-girl."

" _Uh-oh."_

Rouge turned around and saw a very tired and annoyed Knuckles standing a couple of feet away from her.

"Well, long time no see… _treasure hunter_ ," she teased, "Did _you_ miss me?"

Rouge batted her eyelashes a couple of times. Knuckles just stared at her with annoyance.

"No. Now get off my island before I decide to throw you off myself."

"Aw, come on, Knuckles… why the hostility?"

"Probably because you're here to try and steal the Master Emerald… again."

Rouge gasped.

"Knuckles! After all we went through together? You hurt me, echidna. What makes you think I'm not here just to see you?"

Knuckles raised a brow.

"Really? I'm not that stupid, Rouge; why else would you bring all that rope?" he questioned, pointing to the rope that was wrapped over her shoulder.

"What, this? Can't a girl be prepared…?"

Rouge's voice trailed off when she noticed blood dripping from Knuckles' left shoulder. She didn't notice it sooner because Knuckles' fur was a similar color to his blood. **Or, anyone's blood really, in terms of Mobians and humans.**

"What happened to your shoulder!?"

Knuckles kept staring at Rouge.

"It's nothing; got into a little skirmish with Eggman's robots an hour ago. Don't try to distract me so you can steal the Master Emerald behind my back!"

Rouge took a step forward.

"Here, let me-"

"Don't touch me!"

Rouge glared at Knuckles.

"Just sit down for one minute, you're bleeding everywhere!"

Knuckles looked down and saw the small puddle of blood he was leaving on the shrine. He sighed and turned back to Rouge.

"Fine…" he growled, "But if you do anything funny…"

"Then you'll throw me off the island; yeah, yeah, I know. Now sit down and shut up, echidna."

Knuckles sat down on the top step of the shrine as Rouge inspected the wound. She reached into her inventory and pulled out a tourniquet. Knuckles gave her a puzzled look.

"Why-"

"Like I said, girl's gotta be prepared. _For anything._ "

Knuckles rolled his eyes as Rouge wrapped his shoulder up in the bandage wrapping. She didn't say anything for a while.

"Stars are looking nice tonight," she said as she finished.

 **[ 3 Black Noises – Sonic Adventure 2 [OST] ]** (Uploaded by DeoxysPrime) (2:50) **I hope you guys are actually reading the timestamps.**

Knuckles turned to her with a look on his face. It was bizarre for Rouge to be talking to him like this _after_ making an attempt to steal the Emerald _and after_ tending to his injury.

"Uh, I suppose?"

It took a moment for him to notice that her eyes showed signs of emotional pain.

"Wanna talk about it?" he sighed, turning his head and looking off into the distance.

Rouge sat down next to him, her right boot resting on her left knee.

"It's been… rough these past few weeks," she admitted with a sigh.

Knuckles nodded.

"Is it because of Shadow?"

"… Yeah," Rouge replied as she pulled out the Inhibitor Ring Sonic gave her back on the Ark, "it's just… strange. I mean… the professor created the Ultimate Life Form… only to turn him into a weapon. To end to world… all in the name of revenge…"

"I'm… not sure I'm following you, Rouge."

Rouge sighed as she put the Ring away.

"Forget it. It's something I'm not sure anyone could explain," she said, "I better leave, before I get any _funny_ ideas."

Rouge got up and began to walk off.

"Hey," Knuckles called out.

Rouge stopped and turned back.

"If you need a friend…"

"… yes?"

"… I wouldn't mind listening to you," he told her.

Rouge was a bit surprised.

"Really?"

Knuckles shrugged.

"I've got nothing better to do, besides guard the Master Emerald," he explained, "Besides, I have a better chance of preventing _you_ from stealing it if I keep an eye on you rather than just let you fly off."

Rouge gave a soft chuckle and climbed back to the top. She sat back down beside Knuckles.

"You sure you want to hear it?" she asked.

"Company's nice," he replied, "It's nice to actually have a conversation once in a while with someone up here."

"I suppose you do get lonely up here."

"Some days are easier than most."

They remained silent for a few moments. Rouge leaned against Knuckles and rested her head on his shoulder, which he surprisingly didn't mind.

"This might take a while," she told him.

"I'm all ears."

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** Present ***_

 **[ Mass Effect 3 Soundtrack Mars Ambient ]** (Uploaded by JIDE0) (0:00) (Loop)

The memory felt like it happened an eternity ago to the two Mobians. It took Knuckles a few seconds after Rouge began hugging him to hug her back.

"Knuckles?"

"… What?"

"Are you crying?"

"… Just a little."

The pulled away from each other and Rouge saw the tears in his eyes.

"Knuckles…"

He wiped his face and sniffed.

"I'm fine, Rouge… and thanks. I needed that."

"Any time, Knuckles," she replied with a smile.

Knuckles cleared his throat.

"A-anyways, we should get going. I think you said something about having Siris examine the fake communicator before we catch up to the Chaotix?"

"That was the idea I had, yes. Is that a problem?"

"No. Not really. I mean, at this point, hunting the rest of the Emeralds and fragments will take a collective effort. And, like you said, Siris probably has an idea of who the culprit is that's messing with our communications."

From the way Knuckles voice sounded, Rouge didn't believe that it wasn't an issue to him.

"What's wrong? You don't trust Siris?"

Knuckles sighed.

"Honestly… I don't."

Rouge glared at him.

"Look, don't take it the wrong way, Rouge! I don't know the guy, so I shouldn't just put my trust into him when I've only just met him!"

Rouge pondered his reasoning.

"I guess that makes sense."

"Besides, you know my history of putting my trust in others."

Rouge began walking off with a soft chuckle.

"Oh, please, Knuckles. The last time you were fooled was _years_ ago. Have some faith in yourself."

Knuckles caught up and walked beside her.

"Hey, I have faith in myself!"

Rouge giggled.

"Relax, big guy, I'm just teasing."

They reached the elevator and entered it. **It was already on their floor, I'm not too lazy to make them wait, I'm just keepin' the ball rollin'.**

"By the way, Knuckles…" said Rouge as she pressed the floor button that led the to hanger, "what were you going to tell me?"

Knuckles turned to face her.

"Huh?"

"Before, back in Adabat, when you saved me. You said you were sorry, and you were about to say something else. What was it?"

Knuckles blushed a little and turned away.

"I… have no clue what you're talking about," he answered quickly.

Rouge's eyes narrowed.

"Noooo… you were absolutely going to say something. What was it?"

Knuckles' eyes glanced over to the corner of the elevator.

"Nothing."

"Uh-uh…"

The elevator doors opened on their floor.

"Tell me what you were going to say!"

Knuckles walked off towards the plane… okay, he was rushing it.

"There's nothing to tell, Rouge!"

The bat chased after the echidna.

"Oh, no you don't, Knuckles! You will tell me!"

"I wasn't going to say anything!"

A few G.U.N. agents watched the bickering old couple hop onto the plane and begged to God that it would takeoff now. Unfortunately, God ignored their pleas.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Lord's Base_

 **[ Deadspace soundtrack 1: Dead Space Theme ]** (Uploaded by GoldskinOST) (0:00) (Loop)

The control room was filled with the ambient sounds of machines buzzing and beeping. Upon his thrown, the Lord combed through the data on the floppy drive his subordinate had given him days earlier.

"Ahhh… this drive is a treasure trove of wonderful schematics and data," said the Lord, "Julian was much like his father; so far ahead of his time."

His eyes glanced over a file that caught his attention.

"Hmm… interesting. Computer, access this file execution."

…

"Error: Data corruption detected."

"Execute data recovery."

…

"Error: Data recovery not possible."

The Lord sighed.

"What a shame… data from one of the world's greatest minds,possibly lost forever. No matter. Computer, send file to research division; they have more advanced computers, have them repair the data instead."

…

"File transfer complete. Estimated time of repair… Error: Unknown time estimation."

"Hm... interesting… very interesting."

The Lord continued combing through the remaining data.

"What are you hiding, Julian? What's your secret?"

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Unknown Airship_

 **[ Final Fantasy XIII OST – Snow [HQ] [Extended] ]** (Uploaded by Legendary OST) (0:00)

Imagine yourself on a small airship. You have a small crew, consisting of two members. They are both older than you, but they must follow your lead. You are very laid back and carefree about your leadership position, but you have no problems wreaking havoc as a thief. Imagine that after years of carelessness, you finally found a reason to grow up. That was a certain individual a couple of years ago. Here we are now, fast forwarding to the present.

"Hmm… maybe we could… no, that won't work; laser systems would detect us before we even got remotely close to the relic. What if we… no, the glass is reinforced; we'd be better off just sneaking through the vents with security cameras at every corner. Hmph…"

*Knock knock*

"Door's unlocked!"

A heliotrope magenta colored Mobian entered her boss's office.

"I must say, I'm still impressed," she remarked.

Her boss looked up.

"About what?" he asked.

" _You_ ," she replied, "being so… so…"

"Prepared?"

"I was going to say 'responsible' and 'reliable', but 'prepared' works too," she smirked as she walked around the desk between them, "You sure have matured these past few years."

"Well… I did have help."

"Oh? And where did you get help from?"

"Not 'where', 'who'."

She gave him a look.

" _You,_ " he teased.

"Oh, stop it, Jet."

"Why?" the dark pastel green colored hawk continued, "It's true, ya know, Wave."

Wave looked away, hiding the blush showing on her beak. **Wow, so many ships to sink, so much time. Hm? What? Nothing! I'm not sinking… I'm** _ **shipping**_ **! *Ahem* Anyways…**

"So, what are you up to now?" the swallow asked.

Jet stood up from his sofa chair as he pulled out another building schematic and laid it out on his desk.

"I got word that another Babylonian relic is housed at this museum," Jet explained, "I'm just planning our next heist to recover it."

Wave looked over the blueprints.

"Wow… It's been a while since we have planned for something _this_ well protected."

"You're telling me," Jet replied.

"Need help?"

"Sure. Another set of eyes wouldn't hurt after-"

"BOSS!"

 ***WHAM***

A light slate gray colored albatross barged into the office and ran up to Jet's desk.

"Boss! We've got trouble!" he cried out as he slammed his hands on Jet's desk.

The vibrations traveled across the entire office, causing a baby blue colored cube to fall off a nearby shelf and an old rug that was hanging on the way to fall onto Wave. Jet leapt across the floor and caught the cube as he landed on his stomach.

"Ugh, Storm!" Wave scowled as she pulled the rug off her, "When will you ever learn some manners!?"

"I agree!" Jet said, annoyed, as he got himself back up to his feet, "You almost damaged the Key to Babylon Garden _and_ caused the Magic Carpet to fall onto Wave. Have you no respect for any of the relics of our ancestors!?"

Storm gulped. He remembered what happened a little more than a year ago, during one of the Babylon Rogue's heist. Let's just say that the _one_ artifact they were after became _a thousand_. And a lot smaller, too.

"Sorry, boss. B-but this is serious! It's awful!" he shouted, slightly cowering in fear.

Jet and Wave looked at each other, puzzled. Storm was not known to be afraid of anything.

"What's going on, Storm?" Jet asked him as he turned towards him.

"Is there trouble?" Wave asked.

Before Storm could explain, a hole was torn into the wall of the office. Wind flew into the room, causing papers to fly everywhere.

"Hey!" Jet shouted, "What's going on here!?"

Storm was the first to see the individual floating through the hole. His eyes widened.

"It's… it's HIM!" he shouted, point to the intruder, "The blue metal guy from the last tournament against Sonic!"

Jet and Wave were finally able to see through the paper storm in the office and finally saw the intruder.

"Metal Sonic!?"

Blue electricity appeared from the intruder's hands.

"Not… exactly," Neo Metal Sonic replied.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Mobius_

 **[ Misty Lake – Sonic and the Black Knight Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

Mobius. The land where Mobians originated. A place full of endless mystery and intrigue. It also happens to be the birthplace of one Sonic the Hedgehog. And, quite possibly, the biggest pain in the ass when he blasts through in the early mornings.

 ***BOOM***

Good thing it's the afternoon. Dashing across a field of grass, carrying his girlfriend in his arms, Sonic ran. Amy giggled in his arms as the wind blew through her quills. Ahead, they saw a thick, vast forest. Without losing speed, Sonic slipped between the trees and explored the natural world within. He dodged every obstacle in his way; this tree, that tree, hopped over a bush, took a shortcut through a small cave; how that worked out, we'll never know; bounced off multiple trees and propelled himself over a couple of gorges, and, at one point, Amy was certain he ran across a creek; she wasn't sure, since the were moving at Mach speeds.

"Sonic?" Amy asked, looking up at him.

"Yeah?" he replied without taking his eyes off what was ahead.

"Any idea where we're actually going?"

"Hmm… nope, not really."

Amy sighed.

"Of course."

"Well, I have some ideas of where we could look…"

"Oh, really~?" she asked, teasingly, "Do tell!"

"Well, thing is… all those locations would result in a whole lot of distractions."

"Such as?"

"Well… there's Mobotropolis, which is self-evident, and there's also- WHOA!"

Sudden blurs of fluorescent blue and mallow mauve came rocketing towards Sonic. He managed to sidestep out of the way just in time to avoid a collision. He skidded to a halt and turned around.

"What was that?!" Amy exclaimed.

"I'm not sure," said Sonic, "Let's go find out."

Sonic dashed off in the direction the... whatever those things were had headed. **God, that looks so wrong. It's grammatically correct, but damn.** It only took a few seconds for Sonic and Amy to recognize some old faces.

"Silver! Blaze!" Amy called out.

The two were doing the same thing Sonic was doing; going back and see what they had passed. Sonic stopped a couple of feet from where Silver had just landed and dropped Amy to her feet.

"Amy! Sonic! It's been quite some time," said Blaze as Amy gave her a hug.

Blaze wasn't much of hugger, so the feeling was awkward for her.

 **Yeah… the hug is the reason… sure.**

"It's been too long, Blaze," Sonic smirked as he gave her a thumbs up.

He turned to Silver.

"Been a few months, huh, Silver?"

Silver shook Sonic's hand.

"Yes, it has."

There was a bit of nervousness in Silver's voice.

"Something wrong, Silver?" asked Amy.

 **Blaze: THERE YOU ARE!  
**

 **Me: *screams like a bitch and runs away***

 **Silver: *watches Blaze book it after me* Wow… Hm? What's this? A fanfiction story? *briefly reads it* This looks pretty good. Huh… Tails mentioned that he was allowed to write some of the story. I guess I could give it a try…**

 **Me: *Very, very, very far away* I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIIIIIIIIIIE!**

 **Silver: *says a prayer* Okay, let's see… what can I do?**

" _Crap! She knows, doesn't she!?"_ Silver thought to himself.

"Hm? What? Nothing? Why? Nothing is wrong? Why would you assume that? Blaze, is there something wrong?"

" _Always so naïve…"_ thought Blaze.

Sonic held his hands up and backed a couple of steps away from the freaked out psychokinetic.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, pal! It was just a question," said Sonic.

Amy studied Silver and turned to Blaze.

"Blaze, do you know what's up with Silver?" she asked.

Blaze turned away to hide a blush.

"I'm not sure what's wrong. He was fine a moment ago."

If Amy wasn't curious before she sure was now.

"Well, it's a good thing we ran into you guys," said Sonic.

Silver, who calmed down, and Blaze turned to Sonic.

"What do you mean, Sonic?" asked Silver.

"Did you come across any information about where the Sol Emeralds are?" asked Blaze.

"Jeez, slow down with the questions!" Sonic exclaimed.

He took a deep breath.

"We have _a lot_ of thing to discuss and get you two up to speed."

"Well, why didn't anyone contact us?" Blaze asked.

"We'll discuss that as we travel," said Sonic.

Silver and Blaze were not expecting this.

"Together?" they asked.

"Sure. Safety in numbers," Sonic reasoned, "Besides, how long have you two been searching Mobius?"

"Long enough to know there are no Emerald here," Silver sighed.

"That is an interesting suggestion, Sonic," said Blaze, "I suppose that would be best for us to travel together."

"Yes, it does…" said Amy, who was starting to suspect something was happening or has happened between Silver and Blaze.

Silver noticed Amy's stare upon him.

" _I'm doomed…"_

"Well, where to?" Sonic asked the duo.

"Huh? Oh, we were on our way towards a region far east of Spagonia," said Silver.

"Really? Where?" Amy asked.

"I'm… not sure," said Silver, "Blaze suggested it."

"Well, lead the way," said Sonic as he dashed behind Amy and picked her back up.

Silver and Blaze nodded and the four dashed off through the forest. As they traveled, Sonic and Amy explained everything they knew; Sonic receiving the message from Orbot and Cubot in Spagonia, his encounter with Metal Sonic, the unbelievable reunion with Siris, Mighty, and Ray, the disturbing battle Knuckles, Rouge, and the Chaotix had with the robot in Adabat **(they don't know what it was called)** , and Shadow and Omega's encounter in the old Eggman Base in the Mystic Ruins. Silver and Blaze then told their adventure in Mobius; helping a lost kid find his mom and recovering a Sol Emerald. Of course, they both left out the part where they accidentally bumped their lips together.

 **Me: *Runs back in and grabs both Silver and the laptop***

 **Silver: Hey! What are you-**

 **Me: Shut up! *Runs to some discrete hidden location that Blaze will never search* Okay… I think I'm safe… *looks at what Silver has written* Hey, not bad.**

 **Silver: Really?**

 **Me: Yeah, this is exactly what I wanted. Thanks. Wanna hang around and help me finish this chapter?**

 **Silver: Sure!**

 **Me: Great! Let me make one minor adjustment.**

 **Silver: *sees the adjustment* NO!**

… where they accidentally kissed.

 **Silver: WHY!?**

 **Me: *whispers something in his ear***

 **Silver: Keep writing.**

By the time they were all caught up, it was late in the afternoon.

"Man, talk about never having a dull moment," said Sonic.

"Indeed," Blaze said, "Does Shadow know who the person was that attacked him and Omega?"

"Nah, he said he never seen him before," Sonic replied as he leapt over a fallen log and continued running through the forest.

"That sounds pretty scary," said Silver, "A being capable of possessing machines and making them exponentially more powerful? We better keep our guards up."

Amy looked over Sonic's shoulder and up at Silver, who was flying above them.

"That's quite the vocabulary word you used there, Silver. 'Exponentially'. You sound like Tails," she told him.

"Well… it's not like I don't know a lot of words, Amy," Silver explained, "It just… came to mind and I used it."

"Suuuurrrrre…" said Amy, "You wouldn't happen to be using big intelligent words to impress someone, now, _are you~?_ "

Silver flew ahead of the group, so no one would see him blush. Amy giggled.

"Amy, don't tease Silver like that, please?" Blaze asked politely, hoping her fire aura was hiding her blush.

"Ooohhhh… so something _did_ happen!" Amy teased.

Sonic was a bit lost.

"Uh, Amy? Is there something going on that I'm not aware of?"

Amy turned to Sonic and grinned.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sonic. Just leave it to me."

"… Alright… if you say so, Amy."

Silver and Blaze glanced over at each other, both expressing nervousness over what was going through Amy's mind.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Siris' Clinic_

"Here's a prescription for some antibiotics. It should help with the bacterial infection in your knee."

Siris handed the lime green Mobian beaver the prescription.

"This medicine will literally knock you on your ass. I'm serious when I'm saying you will want to stay in bed for the next few days."

"Will it hurt more?" the beaver asked.

"Very much. The fluid in your knee is filled with bacteria. Once these antibiotics kick in, your immune system will send everything it has to fight it off. And it will not be a fun experience."

The beaver moaned.

"This is what I get for not coming in sooner, huh?"

Siris shook his head as he led the patient to the front door.

"It wasn't your fault," Siris told him, "You did what anyone else would have done when they trip and fall and have a cut on their knee; you clean it with rubbing alcohol and put a bandage on it. You didn't know cutting your knee on an old tree stump would cause this."

The beaver seemed a bit more relieved.

"Thanks, Doc… er… _Doctor_ Siris."

"Just call me Siris. I know it seems weird that someone my age is a doctor."

" _And it makes me feel like I'm another Doctor Robotnik when someone calls me that."_

"Right… well, thanks again, Siris."

The two shook hands.

"Oh, it was nothing," said Siris, "Just be sure to come back _immediately_ if the swelling gets worse after three or four days or if anything else changes for the worse."

"I will. Thanks again, doctor. Farewell!"

Siris nodded as the door closed behind the beaver. He yawned at noticed it was starting to get dark outside.

"Man, that late already? What time is it?"

He looked at his communicator.

"It's already 7:15!? Damn, I usually close at six."

Today was a bit busier than usual for Siris, not that he minded. He wasn't one to turn down people in need of medical help, even after hours.

"Well, better close up now, then."

He walked around the clinic, making sure all the doors were locked, including the front door, before heading for the door that led to his house and reaching for the doorknob.

"Hmm…"

His hand was mere millimeters from the handle, but something was… wrong. His right ear twitched. Siris slowly turned around until he was facing down the dark hallway of his clinic. He slightly turned his head as he glared down the hall. Quietly, he walked down the hall; the feeling that something wasn't right grew as he continued down the hall. By the time he was at the end of the hall, Siris began hearing noises.

 ***clink***

 ***clink***

 ***clink clink***

 **[ Dark Souls II OST – Ruin Sentinel ]** (Uploaded by Beyond Final Fantasy) (0:00)

Something… or _someone_ was in the storage room! Siris threw caution to the wind and kicked open the door to the storage room.

 ***WHAM***

The moment the door flew open, Siris saw someone lurking around inside.

"Hey, what are you doing here!?"

Siris launched his right grapple at the intruder.

"SPIKES!"

The bladed wire flew toward the target, but they spun around and kicked the tip of the wire up towards the ceiling and into a lightbulb, embedding the wire in the lightbulb socket.

"What the?!"

The intruder grabbed a vial from one of the shelf cabinets and chucked it in Siris' general location. Time slowed down around Siris as he watched the trajectory of the vial and saw that it was going straight towards the light switch. With only a second to spare, Siris did the first thing that came to mind.

"Oh, shit, LIGHTNING!" Siris shouted quickly.

The ultra-pink colored spikes disappeared from the wire as the vial flipped the switch. Electrical current traveled down the wire and into Siris' body. Luckily, the Lightning color power was already in effect, so Siris was able to channel the extra charge through his left grapple, which he launched at the intruder. They hopped over a table in the center of the room, dodging the attack and leapt through a small open awning that was about eight feet above the ground, which led directly outside. Siris grunted as he yanked his right wire free of the socket and retracted the two wires. He dashed through the clinic, entered his home, and ran out the front door. He jumped straight up into the air, backflipped midair, and launched a wire at the roof of his property. Siris yanked on the wire and, in combination of the momentum of jumping up, vaulted around the top of the structure. Once he had a clear shot, Siris retracted the wire and launched the other towards the ground behind the house. Yanking on the wire, Siris launched himself to the ground, landing perfectly, and glanced around for signs of the intruder.

 **(Music fades into the next track)**

 **[ Night Lounge – Easy Listening, Chill Out, Ambient & Relax – NIGHT LOUNGE ] **(Uploaded by ) (0:00)

" _Damn it… they're gone,"_ he thought to himself as he retracted his wire.

"Shit," he muttered as he walked around the side of the house.

"Well, that was unexpected."

Siris looked up and saw two familiar Mobians standing at the entrance of his clinic.

"Rouge. Knuckles," he said in slight disbelief.

Siris walked over as Rouge waved.

"Hi. Long time no see," she said.

"Yeah, it has been a while," said Siris, "Good to see you too, Knuckles."

He nodded; his lack of verbal responses caused Siris to give Rouge that "what's that all about" look.

"He doesn't trust you," she answered.

"Rouge!" Knuckles shouted, "You weren't supposed to tell him!"

"Knuckles… doesn't trust me?"

Knuckles turned to Siris.

"I… no, I don't."

Siris did a few tiny nods.

"Okay. Fine by me," he replied.

Knuckles and Rouge were both surprised.

"Huh?"

"What, would you trust some random stranger to help you find powerful Emeralds capable of mass destruction?"

"… Good point," said Rouge.

"So… what brings you two here? It's not like anything… actually, scratch that; that would have been a lie, something did just happen."

"Clearly, if you were so focused on vaulting over your clinic like that. Something happen?"

Siris sighed.

"I… had a bit of a break-in a couple of minutes ago."

They weren't expecting that.

"What happened?" Knuckles asked.

Siris gave him a look.

"Are you serious? I just told you!"

Knuckles held his hand up in defense.

"Hey, hey, I was just-"

"Knuckles, he's just joking," Rouge told him.

The defensive echidna turned to Rouge.

"What?"

Knuckles turned back so Siris and saw him smirking.

"Why you-"

"Hey, come on, it was just a joke. Come on; I'll take you both inside and show you what happened."

Siris entered his home and Knuckles and Rouge followed.

"What's this?" Rouge asked.

"Hm? This place?" Siris asked, waving an arm around the room, "This is my home."

Rouge was surprised.

" _You live here_?" she asked.

"Yeeeeaaah… Is that an issue?" Siris answered as he turned around and stood in front of the door the led to his clinic, arms crossed.

Rouge blinked a couple of times as she stared at Siris.

"Well?"

"Uh, sorry, Siris. It's just… never mind. There's something we wanted to show you."

Knuckles pulled out the fake communicator and held it out to Siris.

"A communicator?" said Siris as he took it.

"A _fake_ communicator," Knuckles corrected, "Someone must have swapped mine with one when I wasn't looking. There's no contact information on it whatsoever."

"Is that so? Well, why bring it to me instead of Tails?"

Knuckles jerked his head towards Rouge. Siris turned to her and raised his brows.

"You were closer-"

" _Bullshit, Rouge_. I can see the G.U.N. logo on those bandages; those are only found at G.U.N. HQ, which is much closer to Tails' Workshop in the Mystic Ruins than my little clinic here in Blue Moon Village."

"… okay, I had other reasons."

"Let me guess; checking to see how I'm doing? Making sure I haven't killed anyone else in the past two years? Or, even better, maybe to make sure I wasn't-"

"Wait, what!?" Knuckles exclaimed, "What do you mean 'killed anyone else'?"

Siris looked at Knuckles.

"Uuhhh… Oh, crap… Did Sonic or Tails tell you about the thing?"

"No… what 'thing'?"

Siris sighed.

"Ask Sonic or Tails or Amy when you get the chance. They'll tell you."

Knuckles turned to Rouge in disbelief.

"Something I should know about, Rouge?"

Rouge sighed.

"Sorry, Knuckles. I can't tell you."

Knuckles gaped at her.

"Are you serious!?"

"Don't blame her, Knuckles. I'm the one who told her not to tell anyone," said Siris.

"Why?"

"… When the time comes, I'll tell you."

Siris turned his attention to the communicator and began examining it. Knuckles was still befuddled and suspicious.

"Hmm… certainly looks exactly like my communicator; I would have been easily fooled as well," he said before looking up to Knuckles, "Didn't you bother to try and use it?"

"My duty as the Guardian of the Master Emerald kept me focused on trying to restore the Emerald. I wasn't exactly in the mood to call the others."

"Fair enough."

The duo watched as Siris continued to examine the device from every angle. Rouge continued to look around the house. Both her and Knuckles' eyes met upon the blue orb sitting on the short bookcase.

"Don't even think about it, Rouge," said Siris.

"… Siris… isn't that the-"

"No, it's not. And if you even try to steal it, I'll ruin your other wing."

Rouge was a bit peeved by that remark, but when she turned to face Siris, she could see a faint blue glow in his eyes that made her understood.

"Uh…"

"Forget it, Knuckles," said Rouge, "It's nothing."

"Um… hello," said a small voice behind the duo.

The three looked over and saw Sylvie walking down the hallway. She was wearing the new red dress Siris bought for her earlier that day.

"Oh, hey, Sylvie. You look amazing in that dress," said Siris.

"Oh… thank you, Siris," said Sylvie, slightly blushing.

Knuckles and Rouge on the other hand had slightly different reactions.

"Siris, who is this girl!?" Knuckles demanded.

"Huh?"

"Did you do _this_ to her!?" Rouge asked angrily.

Okay, maybe 'slightly' was a bit of an understatement…

"… oh, her scars? No, I didn't-"

"What did you do to her?!" Knuckles asked as he took a step forward with a threatening fist raised.

"Siris, you better have a good explanation!" said Rouge.

Siris shook his head as his arms hung loosely to his sides.

"Seriously? You'd think I'd do something like that, Rouge?"

"Well, you're a doctor, she has chemical burns; you tell me."

"Wait!" Sylvie called out softly.

Siris was a bit surprised; this was the first time he had ever heard her yell, or at least try to yell. Knuckles and Rouge turned towards her.

"Siris didn't do any of this to me…" she explained softly, "I… he took me in and has been very caring. Please… don't be mad at him."

Siris was absolutely dumbfounded.

" _Is she… protecting me?"_

 ***thu-thump***

" _Ugh… my chest…"_

"Oh… is that what's been happening?" Rouge asked Sylvie.

She nodded.

"Well… I, uh… I'm sorry for my outburst then, Siris," said Knuckles.

"Me too," said Rouge.

"Hm?" Siris hummed before shaking his head, "Oh, uh, right. Yeah, no problem. I understand, no worries. Uh… yeah."

…

"Would you two like anything to drink?" Sylvie asked them.

"I'll have a water," said Rouge.

"I'll have one too," said Knuckles.

Siris didn't reply, too fixated on the communicator.

"Siris?" said Sylvie.

"Hm? Oh, I'm good, Sylvie, but thanks for asking."

Sylvie nodded and went to the fridge to grab the bottles of water. She came back and gave one to Knuckles and Rouge.

"So…" said Knuckles as he cleared his throat and opened his bottle, "anything you can tell us about the fake communicator?"

Siris sighed.

"Not a thing. Sorry, but it's just a simple communicator, other than the fact that there's no information on it. Maybe Tails could help."

He was about to toss it back to Rouge, since she hadn't opened her bottle of water yet, but Sylvie got his attention.

"Uh… Siris?"

"Yeah, Sylvie?"

"Who are these people?"

"Oh, this is Rouge and Knuckles. Rouge and Knuckles, Sylvie."

"Nice to meet you," said Rouge, giving Sylvie a smirk.

"Uh, hi," said Knuckles, lifting one hand up.

Sylvie looked at Knuckles with a perplexed expression.

"What happened to your hands?" she asked the echidna.

Knuckles gave her a look.

"What happened to yours?" he inappropriately joked.

 ***WUMP***

"OW! WHAT THE HELL, SIRIS!?" Knuckles yelled as he rubbed the top of his head.

"Oh, shut up, Knuckles. First of all, that question you asked her is not a subject she would wish to discuss. Second, why would you ever ask someone a question like that so casually? And third, I barely even bopped you on the head with the blue color power."

Knuckles growled but sighed a moment later.

"Yeah… you're right. Sorry, Sylvie, that was insensitive of me."

"… I'm… okay. Thank you, Knuckles."

"… and to answer your question from before, there's nothing wrong with my hands."

"Eh…? Then… do you have the same number of fingers that I do?"

 ***Beep beep***

"Hm?"

Everyone looked over to Siris, who had walked over to his work desk and put on his goggles; that he charged earlier; and did a quick scan of the device.

"Siris?"

…

"Siris?"

…

"SIRIS!"

Siris shook his head.

"Hm? Sorry, I got distracted again. What?"

Rouge sighed.

"Oh, right," said Siris, "Sorry, still nothing. I don't think I'll be able to tell you anything about this thing. As I said before, Tails might be able to find something instead."

He tossed the device back to Knuckles.

"I'll be sure to let him have a look whenever we cross paths again, he said."

"Good. Now if you excuse me, I have a mess to clean up in my clinic."

Siris slid his goggles down so they would hang around his neck as got up and headed for his clinic. He was a bit confused when he noticed Knuckles and Rouge follow him inside.

"Uh, why are you following me?"

"I thought you were going to show us what happened," Rouge told him.

"When did I ever say that?"

"When you told us to come inside your home," said Knuckles.

"I didn't- oh, wait, I did, didn't I?"

Knuckles and Rouge nodded.

"I must be losing my mind," Siris muttered, "Alright, I'll show you. Hey, Sylvie?"

The silver hedgehog was just leaving the laundry room with one of Siris' doctor's coats when she was called over.

"Yes, Siris?"

"… Never mind, we'll talk later. Once I'm finished cleaning in the clinic, I'll be back and make us dinner. Okay?"

"If that's how it must be."

"Alright. Come on, you two. Time to see… *sigh*… just how bad the mess is in the storage room."

Siris led Knuckles and Rouge through his clinic while Sylvie went to hang up Siris' coat.

"She's pretty cute looking," Rouge teased.

"Oh, my God and Chaos, do you want to fly again?" Siris asked.

"Alright, I'll stop. By the way, where's Omega? And Shadow?" Rouge asked.

"Shadow took Omega over to Tails' workshop." Siris answered, "As for where Shadow is, your guess is as good as mine. I haven't seen or heard from him since he left for the Mystic Ruins."

They were halfway down the when Siris' communicator rang. They stopped as Siris answered the call and a holographic screen with Tails' video feed appeared.

"Mr. Magoo speaking," said Rouge as she leaned into Siris' communicator and blocking his face.

"Oh, real mature, Rouge," Siris told her as he moved his arm away.

" _ **Rouge? I thought I was calling Siris."**_

"No, this _is_ Siris, Tails. Rouge was just teasing me."

" _ **Oh, good! I was gonna connect her to this conference call as well,"**_ said Tails.

"Yeah, Knuckles is here as well. They wanted me to look at the fake communicator that Knuckles had on him for the past few days."

" _ **Why did they go to you instead of me?"**_

"Reasons. Don't ask; long story. Who else is on call?"

Tails' video window shrank a little as another one appeared next to his.

" _ **Ah, Siris! It is such a pleasure to see you again!"**_

"Professor Pickle?"

" _ **Of course! I had contacted Tails just moments ago and I insisted that I talk to all of you immediately. It is an urgent matter."**_

"Well, I'm all ears," said Siris.

" _ **Now, just a moment, Siris,"**_ said the professor, _**"Not everyone is present at the moment. We must also contact all the others."**_

"Shadow's gone radio silent," said Rouge.

"And the Chaotix have decided to not use their communicators until we have a solution for whoever is causing our communication issues."

"Speaking of which, good thing we're using video call," Siris remarked as he, Knuckles, and Rouge entered the storage room. "Jeez, what a mess."

Some bottles of medicine had been knocked over on their sides or onto the floor; a couple had even been relieved of their contents. On the ground was some clear liquid that made a large puddle on the ground.

"As much as using video for communications being safer, this isn't exactly safe, Tails," said Siris.

" _ **Don't worry, I'm using a new security program right now; it should be safe,"**_ he replied.

"On your end, sure, but-"

" _ **No, it should be safe for all of us, as long as I'm connected. Don't worry, I'll give it to you guys soon."**_

On Siris' communicator, the two video feeds shrank again and a third appeared underneath both and some random blue hedgehog's face appeared onscreen.

" _ **What's up, Ta- oh, Siris! Professor Pickle! How's it hangin'?"**_

" _ **Not very well, I'm afraid,"**_ Pickle told Sonic.

Amy's face appeared next to Sonic's on his screen.

" _ **Hi, Professor!"**_

" _ **Ah, Amy Rose! It is always a delight whenever you are around!"**_

" _ **Aw, thanks, Professor Pickle."**_

Sonic looked at Siris' screen and saw a couple of familiar faces.

" _ **Whoa-ho-hoo… what HAPPENED to you two…? Oh, wait… was that from fighting the big robot you guys talked about before?"**_

"Yes… yes, it is, Sonic," Knuckles sighed.

" _ **Wonderful. Now we just need to get in touch with Silver and Rouge,"**_ said Tails.

" _ **Heh, waaaayyyy ahead of you, buddy,"**_ said Sonic as he beckoned Silver and Blaze over to the camera.

" _ **Silver, Blaze! We've been trying to contact you FOREVER!"**_ Tails exclaimed, _**"Where have you been?!"**_

" _ **Mobius,"**_ they answered simultaneously.

After a brief blush and glance at each other, Blaze continued.

" _ **Sonic told us what has been happening. Any update on the person who attacked Shadow and Omega?"**_

Siris became slightly nervous from this topic. He looked away from the camera as he continued to pick up vials and pills off the ground.

" _ **No, not yet,"**_ said Tails, _**"But we're certain they work for the Lord."**_

"You mean God?" Siris quipped, earning him a couple of laughs from the others, "I'm certain if that's the case, we shouldn't be getting in the way of His plans."

After a moment, everyone had regained their composure.

" _ **Let's get back on track,"**_ said Amy, _**"What's the point of this call?"**_

" _ **Well, since everyone available is now here, I suppose now is the proper time to explain,"**_ said Professor Pickle.

"Explain what, Professor?" asked Siris.

" _ **I am embarrassed to admit to this unfortunate circumstance, but someone has made off with some of my research."**_

" _ **What!?"**_ everyone exclaimed.

" _ **You mean all your research on the Gaia Manuscripts!?"**_ Tails asked.

" _ **Indeed, Tails. Just one hour earlier, I received news from my assistant that someone had broken into my office and made off with copies of my research involving not only the Gaia Manuscripts, but also all the information I have collected on Dark Gaia and Light Gaia over the past few years."**_

Upon hearing Chip's moniker, Sonic sadly glanced over to his bracelet. Amy gave him a comforting hug on his arm. He looked in her eyes and smiled. She smiled back.

" _Was anything stolen?"_ Rouge asked.

The professor shook his head.

" _ **Nothing was actually removed from my office; someone had hacked into my computer and copied all the data stored on the machine."**_

"How do you know someone made- Aw, FUCK!" Siris shouted, "God… DAMN IT!"

Everyone went silent and looked at Siris in shock. A couple of chuckles were heard.

" _ **Goodness, Siris, language!"**_ Professor Pickle remarked.

"Amazing…" Sonic said softly as he held in a chuckle.

Siris sighed and groaned at the same time.

" _ **Siris? Is something wrong?"**_ Amy asked, smirking at his allegedly inappropriate behavior.

"Yeah, Amy, there is. RRRRRRGGGGHHH! *sigh* While we're on the topic of break-ins, believe it or not, my clinic just had a break-in _minutes ago_."

"Oh, you _just_ realize this?" Knuckles asked sarcastically, pointing towards the partially cleaned up mess.

"Very funny, Knuckles," Siris remarked.

" _ **You were robbed as well?"**_ asked Tails.

"No, nothing's missing. However, when I discovered someone snooping around my clinic, they made a mess as they escaped."

"How did they escape?" Knuckles asked.

Siris pointed over his thumb towards the awning.

"How did they fit through _that_!?" asked Rouge.

"I dunno, but what I do know is that my entire supply of morphine is ruined," Siris sighed, "I assumed it was just a ruptured saline bag, but _clearly_ that wasn't the case."

Everyone went silent again.

"For my patients, guys! Believe it or not, I have a couple of patients who are need of a shot of morphine once in a while and I also need it for other medical purposes."

The silence from the others continued. Siris sighed.

"Have you ever been in the same room as a woman in labor?" he asked.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Okay, I rest my case," said Siris.

"Well, that's one mystery solved," said Rouge, "But why are you so… upset by this?"

Siris took a deep breath.

"Two reasons. One, I'm completely out of the supply, as you can see. Two, it'll take me over a month just to get a new supply in…"

Rouge gave him suspicious look, as though there was more to that second, and also pathetic, reason.

"... if I order online and have it shipped."

Rouge shook her head, adding confusion to her expression. Siris sighed again.

"Or I could just fly over to the pharmaceutical company located in Central City and be back her within two days," he finished.

"Ooohhhh…" said Rouge.

Everyone else, minus Rouge and the professor, were lost.

" _ **Um, is there a reason why going to Central City is a problem?"**_ asked Amy.

Siris turned to his communicator.

"Let's just say… G.U.N. and I don't exactly have a good relationship at the moment. Present company's team and the Commander are excluded," Siris said cryptically, "And let's just leave it at that for now."

Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge all nodded their heads.

" _ **Uh, Sonic?"**_ Silver whispered, _**"Is this the guy you told us about? The one who has dangerous secrets?"**_

"Silver, I'm right here. I can hear you whispering," Siris said flatly.

" _ **Urk! Sorry!"**_

Siris sighed.

"No, it's fine. But since you mentioned it, yes, I am _that_ guy. So get your questions ready for Halloween."

That last statement was more directed to the whole group.

"*Ahem* Back to what I was gonna ask, how do you know someone made off with copies of your research, Professor?" Siris asked.

" _ **Ah, yes. We have our friend, Tails, here to thank for that. He installed multiple safety measures on my desktop some time ago. One of those measures is a program that keeps track of any and all data recorded and copied."**_

"Smart," said Siris, "Any specific data regarding Dark and Light Gaia?"

" _ **They took copies of everything,"**_ Pickle stated, _**"I'm worried that someone might try and recreate what Eggman executed nearly three years ago."**_

An eerie silence fell upon the group.

" _ **That's… that's not good,"**_ said Tails.

" _ **Indeed,"**_ Professor Pickle replied.

"Hmm… I'm not so sure," said Siris, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't Dark Gaia need a few million years to recover before it can be awakened?"

" _ **That is technically true, Siris,"**_ said Tails, _**"but if the Lord, which is what we'll refer to this guy as for now, has this research data, in combination of what we've seen so far…"**_

"My God…" Siris said in horror.

" _ **Wait,"**_ said Sonic, _**"if what you say is true, Professor, does this mean my bracelet has a connection with the Chaos Emeralds?"**_

" _ **Hmm… I never considered that once I learned my research was stolen,"**_ said Professor Pickle, _**"That is a possibility, yes."**_

Sonic sighed.

" _ **What's wrong, Sonic?"**_ Blaze asked him.

" _ **What are you thinking?"**_ Amy asked.

" _ **Well… let's see what happens when I do this,"**_ he replied.

Sonic rubbed his bracelet. A feint glow from the gemstone was seen, followed by a tremor.

" _ **Whooaaa! Here we go again!"**_ Sonic shouted.

" _ **H-H-Huu-uu-uh!? I feel an earthquake, too!"**_ Tails exclaimed.

"Also here!" said Knuckles.

" _ **There's an earthquake here as well!"**_ the professor stated.

A few moments later, the tremor, or _tremors_ , ceased. Everyone was confused and at a loss for words.

"That's… new," said Siris.

" _ **How did that happen?!"**_ Sonic exclaimed, _**"How could everyone have felt that tremor, but not be in the same place!? And how come no one felt them before!?"**_

"Sonic, we felt that one at the clinic when you were here, remember?" said Knuckles.

Sonic shook his head.

" _ **No, I mean the one before that. Siris, Mighty, and Ray were at Blue Moon Village when that one happened, but they didn't feel anything."**_

"Hmm… now that you mention it…" said Siris.

"What is it?" Rouge asked.

"… Gimme a sec, I'll be right back."

Siris put the call on hold as he dashed out of his clinic and came back a few seconds later.

"Okay, so no one in town felt anything. I also asked Sylvie, and she felt nothing either. She didn't even feel the one Sonic caused at the clinic days ago."

" _ **What does that mean?"**_ asked Silver.

"Well… if I had to guess, it probably means that whenever Sonic does that thing with his bracelet, anyone within his vicinity and anyone, at least _visually_ , in contact with him all feel the tremor, or has a tremor occur where they are as well."

…

"Or it's just a gigantic coincidence and we're all just imagining the earthquakes, I don't know."

" _ **Well, it would seem that your little friend is trying to help you, Sonic,"**_ said Professor Pickle.

" _ **Huh? What do you mean?"**_ Sonic asked him.

" _ **Well, you were the one who told me that you had a strange urge to wear that farewell gift before your search for Eggman began. Perhaps it was Light Gaia's doing."**_

"… _**You mean…?"**_

" _ **It is quite possible that Light Gaia knew you would need the Chaos Emeralds in order to defeat a growing threat. He knew this would be the only way for you to retrieve them again."**_

"… _**Heh... should've known Chip would still have my back."**_

"You should be extra careful with that bracelet, Sonic," said Rouge.

" _ **I agree,"**_ said Blaze, _**"If our enemy gets ahold of it, they could prevent us from collecting the remaining Chaos Emeralds. We must take extreme caution and keep it safe."**_

"I'm not so certain," said Siris, "While I agree it should be kept away from the enemy, I doubt any of them would be able to use it. I see it more as our only means of collecting the Chaos Emeralds. I should point out that at least one Chaos Emerald has made a reappearance after every earthquake, based on Sonic's story."

" _ **I hate to disagree, but Rouge and Blaze are right,"**_ said Tails, _**"Even Gerald Robotnik was capable of creating a machine of mass destruction that harnesses the power of the Chaos Emeralds. And that's the earliest known machine created capable of doing so, as far as I know. And if Eggman was able to power his badniks with animals, who's to say someone else wouldn't find a way with that bracelet?"**_

Amy nudged Sonic.

" _ **What do you think, Sonic?"**_ she asked.

" _ **Hmm… I think I'll keep it on my wrist, where I know it will be safe,"**_ he replied.

"Well… if that's the case, stay alert," Siris warned him, "Tails may have made this communication safe, as he told me earlier, but you can never be to careful; assume the worst."

" _ **Gotcha,"**_ said Sonic.

"Now, as much as I love talking to all of you, I have to catch a flight soon and I have to a couple of detours before then. Soooo…"

" _ **Do not worry, Siris,"**_ said the professor, _**"I think we have covered everything necessary for discussion."**_

Everyone else agreed.

"Well, alright then. See ya around," said Siris.

" _ **Later, Siris,"**_ said Sonic.

" _ **Well be in touch,"**_ said Tails.

Siris hung up and sighed.

"Does it always get this hectic during your adventures?" he asked Knuckles and Rouge.

"It gets worse each time," said Knuckles.

"Right…"

Siris finished wiping up the last of the morphine off the ground and disposed all the garbage into the hazard bin.

"Rouge, mind doing me a favor and get me a travel pass for Central City?" he asked.

Knuckles gave Siris a quizzical look.

"Don't you mean a passport?" he asked.

"No, I have _that_. This is so G.U.N. doesn't go guns blazing the moment I step foot in Central City."

He raised a hand before Knuckles could say something.

"Again, don't ask. Long story."

Knuckles sighed.

"How soon do you need the pass, Siris?" Rouge asked.

"Hopefully I can have it by the time we get to Central City," he told her, "You guys get here by plane?"

"Yeah," they answered.

"Is it still here?"

"Yeah, it's currently refueling at the small airfield south of town," said Rouge.

"I know the place," said Siris, "I'll meet you two there in about two hours. I have a couple of things to do before we leave."

Knuckles and Rouge looked at each other, puzzled, and then back to Siris.

"Us?" they asked.

"Yeah. Us. You know, the word that means a collective group of people, including the person using said word? Come on, pay attention to the language we've agreed on using," said Siris.

The duo shook their heads.

"What makes you think we are taking you to Central City?" Rouge asked.

"Because you have a jet that travels over 1,000 miles per hour… wait…"

Siris pondered for a moment before laughing.

"What?" Knuckles asked.

"Miles per hour. Miles Prower. Oh my God and Chaos, how did I not figure that out sooner?"

Knuckles and Rouge rolled their eyes.

"Very funny, Siris. Don't make that joke around Tails, alright?" said Knuckles.

"I won't. I'm not _that_ cruel," Siris replied, "As I was saying, you have a jet capable of speeds over 1,000 miles per hour, which save me a lot of time."

"Okay, but why the time constraint?" Rouge asked.

"I just… like to be fully stocked, that's all. And the sooner I come back with the medicine, the less likely a patient who needs it will have to suffer waiting at my doorstep."

Rouge stared at Siris for a moment.

"Or… you just don't want to be away from _her_ ," said Rouge.

Siris' eyes widened.

"What? Who, Sylvie!? *Pffft* Pleeease… I'm sure she can handle being away from me for a couple of days," he said nervously.

Rouge smirked. When Siris noticed, he gulped.

" _Crap, she got me!"_

" _Ha! I got him!"_

"Alright, Siris, I guess it won't hurt to waste a couple of extra hours to get you to Central City," she said.

Siris sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Rouge. I owe you."

Knuckles glared back and forth between the two.

"Why don't you two head for the plane and wait for me. I'll be there soon enough," said Siris.

"Where are you going?" Knuckles asked as Siris walked pass him and Rouge.

"To see a couple of… _friends._ "

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Coast of Mobius_

 **[ Angel Island (Act 1) – Sonic Mania Adventures Remix ]** (Uploaded by Bouncy Glow's Music Room) (0:00) **(Oh, hey! They did make another Sonic Mania Adventures episode. And it has Amy.)**

"Alright, take care, Tails," said Sonic.

" _ **Don't worry, Sonic. I'll be fine. Watch your back,"**_ Tails replied as he hung up.

Sonic turned to face his friends.

"Well, where to now?" he asked.

It was now dusk, and no one really had a plan of what to do now. Silver and Blaze yawned and stretched.

"Tired?" Amy asked them.

They nodded.

"Well, we could rest here for the night. We all spent all day searching, so it only seems right to recharge now," said Amy.

Silver turned to Blaze.

"I could use some rest. What about you, Blaze?" he asked her.

She sighed.

"I suppose some rest would help. But where would we sleep?"

The four looked around. The only things they could see were forest, sand, and ocean.

"Why don't we sleep under that?" Sonic asked, pointing towards a tree that was slightly larger than the rest, "Looks big enough for all of use to sleep under."

"I think that's a good idea, Sonic," said Amy.

She turned to the others.

"What do you guys think?"

Silver and Blaze had a faint blush on their faces.

"Uh… well…" said Silver.

"I think it's… satisfactory…" said Blaze, "But for safety, maybe we should take turns taking watch?"

"Uh, yeah! That's sounds good! I'll take the first shift!" Silver exclaimed.

Blaze turned to Silver.

"No, _I'll_ take the first shift, Silver. You get some rest," she told him.

"Blaze, you've been tired all day, you should rest."

Sonic and Amy watched the drama before them.

"They are totally in love," Amy whispered to Sonic.

"Ugh… if only they'd get a room," he joked quietly as the should be couple continued to argue.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Blue Moon Village_

"Are you sure it will be okay for me to stay here?" Sylvie asked Siris.

It was only a few minutes ago that Siris told Sylvie he had to go out of town for a day and felt that it would be safer for her to stay at a friend's place rather than be left alone, especially with the break-in only an hour ago. They had just arrived at a small apartment complex and were waiting for someone to answer the door.

"To be honest, it's not up to me if you can stay here for a while, it's up to her," Siris replied, "And trust me, I get the feeling she'll say 'yes' in a heartbeat."

Siris knocked on the door again.

"Come on, she's obviously home," he muttered.

He and Sylvie heard faint footsteps coming, followed by the door opening.

"Siris!?"

"Evening, Nephy," said Siris.

 **[ Undertale OST – sans. Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran) (0:00)

" _Why is she still wearing her uniform? Oh, never mind."_

"What brings you and Sylvie here?" she asked, "No, wait! Did you two finally reveal your fe-"

"Maybe coming here _was_ a mistake…"

"I'm just kidding, Siris. Really, why are you here?"

Siris sighed.

"Well, I had a little incident happen in the clinic. Long story short, I'm out of certain supplies and I must go out of town for about a day or two. I didn't feel comfortable about leaving Sylvie alone in the house for so long, so I was wondering if she could stay here until I get back."

Nephy beamed.

"Of course she can! Please come inside."

"Hold on, Nephy, I'm actually on a bit of a schedule. I have to leave now, but I just want to go over a couple of things first."

"Okay, shoot."

"One, I'll be back hopefully by tomorrow afternoon, which seems unlikely. Whether you decide to take Sylvie to the café or stay home and watch her is up to you, just don't leave her alone."

"No problem so far."

"Two, and this is really important, but please don't bombard her with questions involving… you know, her past. Or me."

Nephy grinned.

"I'll try~…"

"Oh, God, why? *ahem* And three, do not, I repeat, _do not_ give her any _ideas_."

"What sort of _ideas_."

" _Nephy…_ " Siris growled.

She giggled.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! I promise, I won't do anything."

"Good."

Siris turned to Sylvie. She seemed a little down.

"You okay, Sylvie?"

She looked up.

"I'm… sorry."

"For what?" he asked.

"I have become a burden, haven't I?"

Siris smiled and patted her on the head.

"Sylvie, come on… you know that's not true. I'm just doing this because I'm worried about you."

He immediately turned to Nephy and gave her a look.

"Not one word from you, hedgehog," he warned her.

He turned back to Sylvie.

"Look, I won't be gone for long. Just think of this as… a slumber party."

Sylvie looked confused.

"What's a 'slumber party'?"

"Uh… Nephy, not a word. Okay, just think of this as spending the night at a friend's house."

"I have… a friend?"

That sentence stabbed Siris' heart. His ears slightly lowered.

" _Oh… I guess… she doesn't see me as a friend…"_

"Siris?" Sylvie asked.

"Hm? Oh, sorry. Of course you have friends; Nephy, Aurelia."

He turned away.

"… me," he said quietly.

"Eh?"

Siris shook his head.

"Don't mind him, Sylvie," said Nephy, "He's just worried that someone will hurt you. But have no fear, because my home is always open for you~."

Sylvie was a bit surprised.

"Eh…? Umm… th-thank you, Nephy."

"Please, come in. I have a guest room you can sleep in."

Sylvie looked over to Siris, who gave her a smile and a nod. She took a deep breath and entered Nephy's home. Siris couldn't help but feel a bit… depressed.

"She'll be fine, Siris," Nephy told him.

"Yeah, I know… just… yeah."

…

"Anyways, I'll be going now."

"Alright. Be safe."

Siris nodded as he turned around.

"Have a safe trip, Siris," he heard Sylvie say softly.

He turned gave her a reassuring smile before dashing away.

" _Please… come back soon."_

"Well, now that he's gone…" Nephy said mischievously as she closed the door, "What kind of fun can I have with you~?"

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion.

"Eh…? Fun…?"

Nephy took Sylvie's hands and led her to her couch.

"I have _so many_ questions for you~!" said the brown and blue hedgehog.

 **Oh, please be gentle with those questions, Nephy…**

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Hemberg Estate_

 **[ Pondering Eternity – Ambient Music ]** (Uploaded by Robert Otto) (0:00) (Loop)

James 'Snickers' Hemberg. Kinda weird when it's said out loud, huh? That's exactly what Siris thought when he first heard James was the new lord of the estate. The estate was located a few miles from Blue Moon Village, but not far enough so it couldn't be seen from Siris' clinic. It was completely dark now as Siris leapt over the wall that surrounded the property.

" _Okay… nothing will happen,"_ he thought to himself, _"I'm just gonna talk to James for a few minutes, ask him some questions… and try not to kill him. And then, I leave. Nothing bad will happen."_

Siris walked up to the front door and slammed his fist against it.

 ***WHAM WHAM WHAM***

After waiting for a few seconds, Siris knocked again. No change.

"I know you're in there!" he shouted, "I can hear you coming up with excuses for yourself!"

Still nothing.

"Screw it," Siris muttered.

He backed away from the door and launched his grapple up toward the roof. After it went taut, he pulled himself up and onto the roof.

"Okay, let's find Waldo," he said to himself as he put his goggles on over his eyes.

Looking around for a couple of seconds, he determined where his old friend was.

"There's Waldo."

Siris slid his goggles back down and made his way over to the conveniently opened window that led to the room James was in. Siris took a running start, jumped into the air, twirled his body around, and launched a wire through the open window. As he landed inside, he somersaulted a couple of times before stopping on one knee.

"Quite an entrance," said James, who was sitting at a desk, facing away from Siris.

A fire was burning in the fireplace a few feet from the desk.

"Well, your doorbell was broken. I would have just kicked down the door, but then I would have done the 'breaking' in 'breaking and entering'," Siris said flatly.

James took a sip of whiskey from his glass.

"You haven't come to see me in a long time, Wisps."

Siris got up and walked over to James.

"Don't call me that; we're not friends anymore, remember?"

James chuckled.

"Still blaming me for _that_ , huh?"

Siris was now standing before James, on the other side of the desk. He noticed the mouse was still wearing the same suit from the other day.

"I'll take your silence as a 'yes'."

Siris glared at the purple Mobian.

"So, to what pleasure do I give for this unexpected visit?"

Siris pulled out a bag from his inventory and tossed onto the desk. James raised a brow as he picked it up and examined the content inside.

"A piece of string?" he asked.

"Fur. Purple fur… _your fur_ ," said Siris.

"Oh. Hm… where did you get this?"

"Oh, no place special. Just in the storage room of my clinic that _you broke into earlier._ "

James put the bag down and sighed.

"What gave it away, the fur?" he asked.

"Actually, it was the tiny awning you escaped through. Of everyone I know, you are the only one who knows how to infiltrate through objects _that_ small."

James nodded.

"And the fact that you are the only person to ever successfully deflect my wire, besides Shadow. And he doens't need a window to escape."

"Guilty as charged," James admitted.

Siris shook his head.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I would have guessed that you are still working for G.U.N. and that your uncle's death was the perfect opportunity for them to put you closer to me so they can keep an eye on me through your nosey snooping."

Siris leaned over the desk with his hands supporting him.

"How am I doing?" he smirked.

James sighed.

"Very well. Yes, it's all true what you said. However, Charles Hemberg was truly my uncle-"

"From you mother's brother-in-law's second wife's side, yeah, yeah, I know."

"Heh… guess you did catch all that."

Siris rolled his eyes.

"You know, you cost me a whole supply of morphine and trouble pulling that stunt of yours."

"Says the guy keeping a slave in his house."

Siris' eyes flashed a hint of red.

"Watch it, James," he growled, "Unlike you uncle, I-"

"Oh, relax, Siris, I know what you've been doing."

"Shocking. Mind telling me why all of a sudden you've become so obsessed with sneaking into my clinic?"

"… So you know-"

"That you snuck in the night Sonic was admitted to my clinic, yeah. Next time, might wanna lock the door on your way out."

James scoffed.

"Still a smartass, I see."

"Call it a blessing or a curse; whichever you prefer," Siris remarked, "Mind telling me what is _really_ going on?"

The room went silent for a moment; only the crackle and pops from the fire in the fireplace could be heard.

"Well, since you won't take no for an answer, I guess I'll tell you," said James, "To put it simply, G.U.N. doesn't want you anywhere near Sonic and his friends."

Siris made a dramatic gesture.

"Really? What a surprise, since that was my initial plan beforehand."

"Well, G.U.N. doesn't trust you."

"And whose fault is that, I wonder."

…

"So, you heard about my little talk with Amy, huh?"

"Yeah, thanks for that. Just what I need; more people to hate me."

"Well, they're giving you a chance to tell your story, aren't they?"

"God, aren't you the nosey sack of shit? I bet it was you who gave Tails that floppy disk as well?"

James expressed confusion.

"Floppy disk? What are you talking about?"

Siris stared at James.

"That wasn't you?"

"Siris, I have no clue what you're talking about. What was on the floppy disk?"

"Nothing that you don't already know; photos of what happened two years ago."

"Really? _Incriminating photos_?"

"To the uninformed, yes."

"And you plan to explain yourself?"

"Regardless of the outcome, it'll make my life easier."

"Hm…"

"Funny how once we're in this place, all you want to talk about is me and not Sonic and his team."

"Still annoyed about that second visit?"

"A little."

…

"Now that I think about it… you don't know about the message, do you?"

"… no."

"Well, you'll be happy to know that, allegedly, Eggman thinks that I'm a necessity to help the other three hedgehogs save the world."

"… He must be either going insane like Julian did, or…"

"Or…?"

"I need a change of plans."

"What, you have one already at mind?"

"Yes."

…

…

…

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Are you gonna make me beat it out of you? What's the plan?"

James stared at Siris for a moment.

"Why should I tell you?" the mouse asked.

"Because I doubt you have any good plans to prevent me from leaving."

"I thought you said you didn't want to join Sonic on this adventure?"

"No, I said I agreed with G.U.N. that I should probably be kept away from him and his friends. I never said I would let the world fall into chaos."

James sighed.

"Well, then I have no idea what to do."

…

"I might have an idea…" said Siris.

James looked at Siris with a bit of surprise.

"You have a plan to tell _me_?"

"Oh, do I," Siris said as he grabbed James by the collar of his suit, "Now, listen up."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Coast of Mobius_

 **[ Sleep Music with Ocean Sounds at Night – Relaxing Video for Sleeping, Waves and Female Vocals ]** (Uploaded by LoungeV Films – Relaxing Music and Nature Sounds) (0:00)

After an amusing ten minutes of watching Silver and Blaze bicker like an old couple, Sonic and Amy had managed to convince them that they should both rest and that Sonic would take the first watch, since he wasn't tired. Amy asked Silver to help her collect some large leaves and branches that they could sleep on, instead of the hard ground underneath the tree the team planned to sleep under. They've been walking along the coast for about half an hour now.

"How's this one, Amy?" Silver asked, levitating a large palm tree leaf he found nearby. **(I'm not talking about those crappy real-life palm tree leaves, I'm talkin' leaves from Sonic Mania Adventures that Knuckles tried to hide the Master Emerald under.)**

"Looks perfect, Silver," Amy told him as she dragged a couple of leaves behind her.

" _Okay, Silver… let's see how long I can push your buttons,"_ Amy thought to herself with a smirk.

"So, how are you doing?" she asked.

"Huh?"

Silver looked over to Amy.

"I'm… fine, I guess."

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Silver, the last time I saw you, you literally poured your feelings towards Blaze out to me and Cream because you thought Blaze was never gonna come back. Days later, voila, she's here."

"Well… yeah, I guess it was an enormous coincidence."

Amy facepalmed.

"Oh, come on, Silver!"

"What!?"

Amy dropped her cargo and held her hands out in an exasperated manner.

"What do you mean 'what'!? You like Blaze. Blaze is here. Helloooooo~?!" said Amy.

Silver began to blush as a drop of sweat appeared on his temple.

"Uh, Amy, can we not talk about this right now?"

"Are you seriously going to tell me that Blaze's reappearance over two years _after_ Sonic's birthday party is nothing more than a coincidence?!"

"Umm… yes?"

Amy fell over anime style and quickly recovered.

"Silver, don't act so oblivious; this is a miracle! A match made in heaven!"

"Amy, not so loud!" Silver shouted quietly, "I don't want Blaze to hear us!"

Amy's mouth dropped.

"Wait, you didn't even _tell her_!?"

"No! And why would I!? It's not like she shares my feelings!"

Amy glared into Silver's eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Oh my God and Chaos… something _did_ happen before Sonic and I ran into you guys, didn't it?"

Silver's blush was now crimson, and the drop of sweat was **(unexplainably)** huge and was still clinging to his fur.

"Ooohhh… I knew it! I knew it!"

"Amy, sssshhhhh!"

"Silver, you will tell me what happened, I want all the-"

Before Amy could finish, Silver levitated off the ground and took off in a flash back to camp, with his leaf in tow.

"Hee hee hee," Amy giggled, "Cream and Rouge will have a field day when I find out and tell them."

Amy picked her leaves back up and began running along the coast.

"Silver's gonna be _really_ sorry for making me run all the way back."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Blue Moon Village Airstrip_

Knuckles and Rouge were standing outside the jet they arrived in, waiting for Siris to show up. It had only been a little more than an hour since they Siris told them he'd meet them. Knuckles had, reasonably, been pondering over what Siris had said and what was going on.

"You know Chun-nan is the _opposite_ direction of Chun-nan, right, Rouge?"

Rouge turned to Knuckles.

"I'm well aware, Knuckles, yes."

"Then, why give him a lift and waste more of our time to get him to Central City?"

Rouge sighed.

"Let's just say… when it comes to Siris, _never_ jump to conclusions."

Knuckles nodded and looked up at the starry night.

"Rouge, I have to ask," he said to her, "why is G.U.N. on bad terms with Siris?"

Rouge glanced over to her echidna friend and sighed.

"That's not something Siris would want me to tell you."

"But _you're G.U.N._!" Knuckles exclaimed, "If he's killed people, then G.U.N. should have no problem arresting him if they had evidence against him!"

Rouge bit her lower lip and looked away. Knuckles glared at her.

"There's no evidence, is there?" he asked.

Rouge sighed again and looked at Knuckles.

"All I can say is that… what happened to Siris…"

…

"Yeah?"

"What happened was personal"

"To him?"

"Yes."

"… Okay, but why-"

"In due time, Knuckles," said a voice from above.

Knuckles and Rouge turned around and saw Siris laying on top of the jet.

"When did you get here?" Rouge asked.

"About a minute ago," Siris replied, not moving.

"Exactly how shocked should I prepare myself to be whenever you tell us your story?" Knuckles asked.

"You'll most likely kill me… after slowly torturing me with whatever you can think of."

…

"I'm not kidding."

Rouge shook her head.

"Siris, come on, I'm sure they'll understand-"

"Rouge, you don't even know the half of it," Siris remarked as he sat up, "You should be prepared as well."

Siris hopped down and approached the duo.

"So, we leavin' now?" he asked.

"Yeah," said Rouge, "let's get on the plane."

Siris deadpanned at her.

"What?" she asked.

"Seriously?" he asked.

"What?"

Siris flipped her off.

"I'm getting _in_ the plane, thank you very much!"

Knuckles and Rouge chuckled.

"I'm not Evel Knievel; I'm not getting _on_ the plane. Jeez, when will people learn?"

Siris smirked and put his bird away.

"You'll never stop watching George Carlin's specials, will you?" Rouge asked.

"Nope. Now let's get _in_ the plane and take off. I've got an order of morphine with my name on it."

The three Mobians entered the plane and prepared for takeoff.

"Hey, did you get me the pass?" Siris asked Rouge.

Rouge pulled out some paperwork from her inventory and handed it to Siris.

"Okay, let's see here… oh, sweet! I don't need an escort this time!?"

"Nope. Consider this as a reward for your 'good behavior'."

Siris deadpanned again.

"You knew James was sent to spy on me, weren't you?" he whispered into Rouge's ear.

"I cannot confirm nor deny."

"What are you two talking about?" Knuckles asked.

"Nothing you need to know, Knuckles," Rouge replied as she took her seat, "What's wrong? Jealous?"

Knuckles looked away as he took a seat on the opposite side of the plane. Siris smirked and shook his head.

"Don't get any ideas, Mr. Magoo," Rouge told Siris, "He and I are just-"

"Lovers?"

Siris ran to the back of the jet before Rouge could get a chance to kill him.

"His end may come sooner than he thought," Rouge said to herself.

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _*** October 20, 2020 ***_

 _Unknown Kingdom, Midnight_

 ***Kshhhhkshkshsh* (Closest I'll ever get to glass breaking)**

"There they are!"

"After them!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Send a patrol after them!"

They wouldn't be called the Babylon Rogues if they weren't getting themselves into mischief. Shame that the guards at this particular museum had to guard a Babylonian relic from the Rogues' past. And now, the Rogues are escaping on their Extreme Gears with said relic.

 **[ Sonic Speed Riders – Sonic Riders Music ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Wave, you got the relic?" Storm called out.

The swallow briefly faced her partner and nodded.

"Enough chatter and stay focused!" Jet shouted over his shoulder.

Although he had matured over the years, he still hated it when there was unnecessary chatter or banter around him. Especially during a heist.

"Watch out for the oncoming traffic!" Jet warned his team as he led them onto the highway.

Unlike other cities they've commonly heisted in the past, this place was still traveling by ground instead of the hi-tech hover vehicles commonly used in places like Grand Metropolis. Should be a cakewalk for them… right? Well, yes, any other time, it would be. But Jet was a bit distracted at the moment.

" _That metal freakshow… ugh! Some nerve to show up and give us some lame-ass offer to 'save us'. Ha! Save us? From what!?"_

Wave noticed Jet was really pushing his luck of how close he was getting to the oncoming vehicles before moving out of their way.

" _And what's this talk about Sonic going bonkers? What, did that tin can really think I'm that gullible. Pfffft. Puh-lease. I've learned from my mistakes. I won't be fooled again!"_

Storm rode close to Wave.

"Hey," he said quiet enough for Jet to not hear, not that he was paying any attention to them at the moment, "Is the boss okay? He seems a little… angry."

"I think buckethead just got a little into his head. He'll be fine."

" _And then a bribe. A bribe! We're thieves, not poor and homeless! Idiot… But… when he threatened to-"_

"JET!"

The hawk shook his head.

"Huh? Wha-?"

 ***HOOONK HOONK***

Jet didn't pay attention to the oncoming traffic and was now a deer in the head lights to an oncoming semitruck. It was only thanks to Wave being propelled by Storm and pushing him and herself out of the truck's path that he didn't become roadkill.

"Jet! What the hell was _that_!?" Wave screamed as they regained control of their boards.

Jet shook his head and looked back to the road. He boosted off without answering Wave's question.

"Hey, Jet! You have explaining to do, mister!"

Wave and Storm boosted after Jet as they continued to lose the authorities.

 **(Wait for song to end)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Lord's Base_

"Contact Neo Metal Sonic."

…

" _ **My Lord."**_

"There has been a change in plans…"

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _A few thousand feet above Central City_

Siris was sitting comfortable in his seat as the plane flew over Central City. Rouge got up from her seat and walked over to him.

"Siris, we're about to-"

She stopped talking when she saw that Siris was sleeping. Or, she assumed he was; his legs were elevated and crossed, and his hands were resting on his chest. She wasn't sure because his goggles were on; the lens was so dark, she couldn't even see if his eyes were open or not. **Yeah, I should have mentioned it before, Siris' goggles look like black ski goggles. Not that it really mattered thus far. But now you know.**

"Hmm…" Rouge smirked as she reached over to pinch Siris' nose.

"You ever wanna fly again?" Siris warned her.

"Killjoy," she muttered, "We're flying over the city now."

"Really?" Siris asked as he got up from his seat.

He looked at his communicator.

"Wow, 3:00 AM!? How did we get here so fast!?"

"The communicator automatically changes between time zones," Rouge explained.

"Ah."

Siris followed Rouge as they approached the cockpit.

"I see Knuckles is resting peacefully," said Siris.

"Not a word from you," Rouge warned.

"Hey, I already made a joke about the two of you, I don't need to make another… yet."

Rouge rolled her eyes.

"So, when are we landing?"

"In about half an hour," Rouge replied.

Siris deadpanned.

"Really? _That's_ your answer?"

Rouge shrugged.

"Well, unless you plan on… wait."

Too late, Siris was already opening the hatch.

"Siris, wait, G.U.N. wants to-"

"GERONIMOOOOOOoooooo…."

Knuckles woke up and yawned.

"Oh, did he jump out?" he asked Rouge.

She shook her head in disappointment.

"He sure did."

"Huh. Well, close the door, will ya? Trying to sleep here."

Rouge closed the door.

"What happened!?" the copilot asked as he poked his head from the door to the cockpit.

"Our extra passenger just went for a ride," Rouge told him.

"Of course. Are we still going in to land?"

Before Rouge could answer, her communicator beeped. She noticed she got a message from… Siris? She read the message.

 _Sorry, I had to do that. Been too long. Also, I just saved you about an hour of time that could have been wasted on landing, refueling, and taking off. Stay safe._

 _Sincerely, Mr. Magoo_

 _P.S. Don't let the name go to your head!_

 _P.S.S. Wow, the ground sure is getting closer… later!_

Rouge sighed.

"Agent?"

She glanced over to the copilot.

"No need to land. Take us directly to Chun-nan."

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

"GERONIMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Siris shouted as he leapt out of the plane.

After a _boring_ flight, Siris needed a little pick-me-up. And what better than to jump out of a plane without a parachute…

"Hmm… I did not plan this through… oh, well," Siris sighed as he dove towards the ground, "While I have time, I should probably send Rouge a message. Got about… another 8,000 feet or so."

 **[ Speed Highway – Modern (Goin' Down) (OST Version) – Sonic Generations Music ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

After a few seconds of typing the message and sending it, Siris looked around for something theatrical to do.

"Hmm… well, there's no tall buildings nearby, so wall running is out of the question. Don't have a sheet of metal, so no snowboarding down the street. Hmmm… hm? What's that? Ah! Perfect!"

Siris tucked himself into a ball and began spin dashing through the air. Now, let's get something straight, Siris is not Sonic. Sonic can bounce while spin dashing. Siris cannot. So, unless he has a plan, we're about to have quite the mess in the skatepark.

 **Wait, skatepark?**

Siris rolled along one of the halfpipes and flew back into the air.

"WHOOOO!" he yelled as he uncurled midair.

Along the street laid a guardrail; perfect for Siris to land on and grind.

" _Man, I've missed doing this."_

At the end of the ride, Siris hopped off and dashed through the streets towards his destination.

 **(Wait until music stops)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Far to the east of Spagonia…_

 **[ Deep Woods – Sonic and the Black Knight Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Wow," Amy sighed as she walked out of a forest and into a vast clearing.

"It sure is peaceful here," said Blaze as she stood beside Amy.

Sonic and Silver appeared from the forest as well and stood beside the girls. They traveled for many hours after leaving Mobius. Per Amy's request, they decided to head over to Spagonia and check on Professor Pickle. They were glad to see that he was fine and that insisted that they didn't need to do so, but was pleased, nonetheless. The Professor told them of a kingdom far east of Spagonia and suggested that they search there next. He couldn't remember the name, and worse, they had no clue where they were at the moment. But the view was nice, at least.

"Well, the kingdom sure isn't going to come to us," said Sonic as he scooped Amy off her feet, "Let's get going!"

Everyone agreed, and they dashed off into the valley.

"So, Blaze," said Amy, "how are things back in your dimension?"

The pyrokinetic looked over to the hammer-welding hedgehog.

"Uh, the Sol Emeralds are missing, my home has been damaged, and I have people counting on me. Why?"

Amy sighed.

"No, Blaze, I meant how are things going, _besides that_."

"… Oh. Well, all things considered, my dimension is going well. Aside from this and Eggman Nega's schemes, things have been very…"

"Boring?"

" _Uneventful_ ," said Blaze.

"Well, no shortage of trouble here," said Amy, "Do you hang out with anyone?"

"Not really. I mean, there is Marine, but other than her, I don't often have time to mingle with others."

"Well… how about a boyfriend?"

Blaze almost tripped over herself from being caught off-guard with that blunt question.

"Uh, what!? No!" she exclaimed, "Why would you ask such a thing?"

Amy smirked.

"What? You don't have a boyfriend? Someone as royal and amazing as you should have all the boys drooling!"

Blaze blushed.

"I… have no relationships with anyone in _that_ way."

"Why not?"

"Amy… can we not talk about this right now?"

"Why not? I'm bored and I want to make girl talk with you."

"That's fine, I suppose, but let's keep my relationships out of this conversation."

Amy glanced at Blaze.

"Why? Do you _like someone_?"

"What!? Why- Enough! I'm not talking about this anymore!"

Sonic, who was unfortunately, and practically, forced into listening in, leaned over to Amy's ear.

"Amy, I don't know what you're trying to accomplish, but I don't think upsetting Blaze is the wisest of moves," he whispered.

"Hmph. You're no fun, Sonic," she pouted playfully.

Sonic rolled his eyes and focused on the hills.

"Hey!" Silver called out from above, "Look over there!"

Everyone looked over to where Silver was pointing.

"What is that thing?" Blaze asked.

"Trouble," Amy answered.

"Oh, it's more than just trouble, Amy," Sonic smirked, "Come on; let's go check it out."

The blue blur boosted towards the flying object. Silver and Blaze gave each other a quick glance and shrugged before chasing after Sonic and Amy.

"Sonic, wait!" Amy cried out, "Now isn't' the time for games! We should be focused on finding the Emeralds!"

"Aw, come on, Amy, lighten up!" her boyfriend teased.

Within seconds, Sonic had arrived underneath the floating behemoth; Silver and Blaze arrived shortly after.

"Huh, guess no one's home," said Sonic as he put Amy down.

"Good," Amy remarked, "Now, let's get going, before _they_ show up."

Sonic laughed.

"Uh… can someone explain to me what's going on?" Blaze asked.

Silver shrugged.

"That giant mechanical bird looking this is an airship," Amy explained, "It belongs to-"

"It belongs to the Babylon Rogues!" a voice shouted from nearby.

The team turned in the direction it came from and saw three Mobian birds walking over to them.

"Hmph, well if isn't Sonic the Hedgehog."

"Hey, long time no see, Jet."

The two rivals glared at each other. Blaze was still lost.

"Sonic, who are these people?" she asked, "Are they friends of yours?"

 **Just because Blaze is playable in Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity and Sonic Free Riders, that doesn't mean she knows the Rogues. She wasn't even in the campaigns.**

The three EX riders exploded into a fit of laughter, causing Blaze to feel embarrassed and upset. Sonic and Amy cringed.

"What?" Blaze asked, "W-what's so funny?"

The Rogues calmed down and looked at her.

"Sorry, _'friends'_?" Jet asked, "Ha! Like I'd be friends with slowpokes like him."

"Yeah. The boss always wins against that blue punk!" said Storm, "How is it that you don't know who we are? Do you live under a rock or something?"

Silver walked over to Blaze when he noticed hints of smoke rising from her fists.

"These guys are known as the Babylon Rogues. They are known world-wide as a band of thieves, famous for their Extreme Gear skills," he explained.

"They also happen to be descendants of alien-like genies," Sonic added, "… or was it genie-like aliens?"

" _Really_?" Blaze asked with interest.

"Hmm…" Storm muttered as he stared at the mulberry colored gem on Blaze's forehead.

"Excuse me, why are you staring at me?!" Blaze exclaimed when she caught him red-handed.

"Why do you have that stupid thing on your forehead?" Storm asked.

 ***Record scratch* (Pause music)**

Jet and Wave gave their partner an annoyed look while Blaze's friends turned to Storm with looks of shock and disbelief.

"Ex- _cuse me!?_ " Blaze shouted, "What did you just say!?"

Silver tried to calm her down.

"Blaze, hold on! They-they don't know that you're-"

"Silence, Silver! I will handle this!" she told him.

"Uh oh," Sonic and Amy muttered as Silver backed away in fear.

Jet and Wave were too busy with Storm to notice the incoming inferno, since they were now looking the other way.

"Storm, we're not here to pick fights with people!" Wave remarked.

"But if she's friends with the blue rodent-"

"Who cares!?" Jet shouted, "We don't insult people with words! We use our boards! Violence is not something the Babylon Rogues want to be labeled with, Strom!"

"Sorry, boss," Storm moped, "But that gem on her face sure looks pricey."

"Rrrrggghhh! Don't you ever think about anything other than money!?" Wave remarked.

"We're thieves!" Storm exclaimed, "We're supposed to be thinking about money! Oh-ho-ho, I can't wait to steal that gem."

Jet sighed.

"This is pointless, let's just- wait… *sniff sniff* Do I smell something burning?" he asked.

"Yeah, I smell it too," said Wave, "Where's it coming from."

"Hey… guys?" said Sonic.

Jet and Wave turned around.

"What do you… oh, crap," Jet muttered.

"S-Storm… you better apologize," said Wave.

Storm gave them a puzzled look.

"Huh? Why?"

The two smaller birds pointed behind him. Storm turned around and saw a very pissed of pyrokinetic.

"Crud…" Storm squeaked.

 **[ One Minute, Thirty Seven Seconds Later… | SpongeBob Time Card #40 ]** (Uploaded by SpongeBob Time Cards) (You don't need a timestamp, dumbass) **(Why did I bother adding this? They can do a French accent… right?)**

 **(Continue Deep Woods)**

"Apologies, Blaze," said Jet, "It was not our intentions to disrespect you. We didn't know you were from another world _and_ come from royalty."

"I accept your apology," said Blaze, "But _he_ won't be so easily forgiven just yet."

"Uuuggghhh…" moaned an ass-kicked Storm who was laying on the ground.

"Shut up, Storm," said Wave, "You had it coming."

"So, Jet," Sonic butted in, "what brings you to these parts?"

Jet smirked.

"Heh. Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Well, I could think of at least one reason: Babylonian relics?"

"… Lucky guess," Jet muttered, "Why are you here, hedgehog?"

"Eh, you know; new evil, old faces, world domination, saving the day; the usual."

"Really? And you wanted to come and bother us instead of doing that?" Jet smirked.

"Well, you're still here," Sonic remarked, "Something troubling you?"

"*Irk* N-nothing!" Jet exclaimed.

"Suuurrre."

"Well, not unless you call getting ready for the EX World Grand Prix as being troubled," Jet smirked.

Sonic's ears perked up.

"The EX World Grand Prix, huh? I wasn't aware there was one coming up," he joked.

"Sooner than you think," said Jet.

" _Sonic_ ," Amy urged him, "We have more important things to do than race against thieves."

Sonic leaned over to her.

"I got this, Amy," he whispered, "Leave it to me."

"What's wrong? Need your _girlfriend's_ permission to race me?" Jet sneered.

"Oh, I don't need her permission, Jet. And as tempting as that challenge is, I've got a world to save."

Jet was a bit surprised that Sonic didn't take the bait.

"Come on, guys!" he called out to Silver and Blaze, "Let's get going. We'll deal with these guys next time."

Silver and Blaze nodded and followed him as he and Amy began walking off. Jet hoped onto his board and glided over in their way.

"Whoa, now! What's the rush?"

Sonic sighed.

"Jet, as much as I love this little rivalry we have, we don't have time to waste," he said, "Sooo… if you'll excuse us…"

Jet got in Sonic's way again.

"What if I told you that you could win something that would save the world?" Jet asked.

Sonic looked at him suspiciously.

"What are you saying?"

"What if I told you the winner of this upcoming EX World Grand Prix wins a Chaos Emerald?"

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Unknown Facility_

 **[ Dark Ambient Hour Mix: Abandoned Genetic Research Facility ]** (Uploaded by Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse) **(Probably the most calm and dark ambient mix ever)**

" _I'm a bit surprised that this facility still exists. Perhaps I can find some answers here."_

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

" _Maybe that terminal will have some useful information."_

…

" _Nothing relevant."_

…

" _Hm? What's that?"_

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

" _This shouldn't even be here… something's… WRONG…"_

…

" _Maybe it WILL help me this time. It might be-"_

…

" _Someone's coming. Better hide and follow them."_

…

…

" _Researchers? I thought this place was abandoned."_

…

" _Where are you going?"_

…

" _Hmm… They're gone."_

…

" _Better leave now. Cameras are everywhere. I'll come back later."_

…

"Hey! Who are you!?"

"Damn…"

"What do you think you're- URGH!"

 ***Thud***

" _Hmm… so much for covert infiltration. Better get moving."_

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Beneath the Babylonian Airship_

"A Chaos Emerald?" Sonic asked with surprise.

"Yup," Jet answered.

"Here?" asked Amy.

"No, but close by," Wave answered.

"Are you lying to us?" Blaze asked.

"Nope," said Storm, who had recovered from the physical trauma; but not the mental one.

Sonic looked to his comrades.

"Thoughts?" he asked them.

"If there's an Emerald here, then we should definitely do it," said Silver.

"I'm not sure if I trust them," said Blaze, "But… if there is a Chaos Emerald prize, then it would be foolish of us not to compete."

"Alright!" Sonic exclaimed, "What about you, Amy?"

She sighed.

"Well, only one way to find out," said Amy.

Sonic nodded and turned back to the Babylon Rogues.

 **[ Menu – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

"Alright, Jet," Sonic smirked, "consider your challenge accepted!"

Jet let out a soft chuckle.

"Excellent! Because I can't wait to show you what I've got in store."

"Well, you know what they say," said Sonic, "the third time's a charm."

"Ha! You may have one the last two Grand Prixes you competed in, but you won't win this time!"

"Oh, I don't need to win," Sonic explained.

The Rogues were confused.

"Huh?"

"Like you said, the winner gets a Chaos Emerald," Sonic continued, "As long as me or my friends win, the Chaos Emerald is in our hands!"

"Hmph. Is that really the only reason?" Jet asked.

"Well, of course not! You'd think I'd go easy on you?" Sonic taunted.

"Now _that's_ what I like the hear!" Jet exclaimed.

"Just tell us where and when the Grand Prix will be and we'll be there," said Sonic.

"Couldn't be easier," said Jet as he hopped off his board.

He jerked his head over his shoulder; Sonic, Amy, Silver, and Blaze looked to where he was indicating and saw a large castle in the distance.

"The race begins in three days," Jet explained, "The Grand Prix will take place over a course of three days across various terrains. First day's races are the qualifiers; the second consists of three races that will result in the final eight contenders; and the final day will be the finals."

Sonic crossed his arms and smirked.

"Sounds like a lot more time consuming than the last Grand Prix," he said, "So what's that place over there with the castle?"

"Soleanna."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Chun-nan Village_

 **[ Chun-nan Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) (0:00)

The cool evening breeze blew through the small village of Chun-nan as the village elder casually strolled around. He enjoyed nights like these; calm, quiet, and peaceful. But best of all, his back pain had ceased for the moment, giving him some time to enjoy himself. As he walked across the bridge leading away from Wang's Emporium, Zonshen inhaled some of the nightly air.

"Ahhh…" he sighed, "Another beautiful night."

Some movement caught is eyes to the left. He turned and saw a group of Mobians heading his way.

"Ah, you've returned," said the elder.

"Indeed, elder," Espio answered politely.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Zonshen asked them.

The Chaotix shook their heads.

"Nothin'," said Vector.

"No Chaos Emeralds, no Sol Emeralds, not even a fragment of the Master Emerald," Ray sighed.

Mighty gave his friend a pat on the back.

"Don't look so down," he replied, "Besides, as least we know where the Emeralds _aren't_."

"Yeah, but why couldn't they be all in one place?" Charmy complained.

The Chaotix arrived in Chun-nan before sunrise. At the time, only Zonshen was out and about, which was good for them, since he _is_ the village elder. After brief introductions and explanations, Zonshen told the team that he had no knowledge of any of the objects they were searching for. He gave them some suggested locations around Chun-nan to search, but after a whole day of searching, nothing.

"You five look tired," the elder stated, "Why don't you five spend the night at my place. There's plenty of extra space for visitors such as yourselves."

Vector nodded.

"That would be great, elder, thank you," he said, "But first, I think we'll grab some grub before resting. I haven't eaten anything at all today."

 ***Grrrrrrrrrrrrrr***

He's not the only one; everyone's stomach was growling.

"Hee hee," Zonshen giggled, "Well, boys, you're in luck! Wang's Emporium is still open for the next few minutes. Why don't you get yourselves some food there?"

"Sounds great!" Charmy shouted.

Vector grabbed the bee by his vest and pulled him close.

"Charmy, shaddup! People are sleepin'!"

Espio, Mighty, and Ray sighed.

"Come on, boss," said the chameleon, "Let's eat and get some rest. I get the feeling we are going to need it."

The Chaotix took their leave and headed over to the emporium. They bought a few orders of Lin's meat buns using the rings they collected during their search. What, did you really think rings grew on trees? No, wait… they just respawn after some time and just float in the air… Hmm… didn't think this through… Anyways they walked over to the edge of the sidewalk and sat along the pond as they ate their dinner.

"Mm-mmm! Wow, Sonic wasn't kidding when he said these meat buns were amazing," said Vector.

"You can say that again," said Charmy.

Mighty and Ray looked over to the two.

"Wait, Sonic's been here before?" they asked.

"Yup!" Charmy exclaimed, "It was a couple of years ago when Sonic had to restore the planet after Eggman broke the world into pieces."

"This was one of the locations Sonic had to travel to and restore a Chaos Emerald," Espio explained.

"Whoa… I didn't know that," said Ray.

"Me either," said Mighty, "Why didn't you guys tell us?"

Vector, Espio, and Charmy looked at one another.

"I guess we forgot," Vector admitted nervously.

"Sorry," said Charmy.

"We'll tell you about it when the time is more appropriate," said Espio.

Mighty and Ray nodded and the Chaotix went back to eating.

…

…

…

"Hm?" Espio muttered as his head spun to his right.

His eyes darted around, looking for… something; he wasn't sure himself. As he turned back to his food, his head darted back to the right.

"Think we should contact Sonic or Knuckles?" Mighty asked, "Maybe we should let one of them know what's been going on."

"I don't think that's a good idea," said Charmy with his mouth full of meat bu-… **You sick bastards…** full of food, "Didn't you guys hear Siris? If someone were to listen in on our conversations, the bad guys-"

"Alright, alright, I get it!" said Mighty.

Vector glanced over to the cautious chameleon.

"What's up, Espio?" Vector asked the ninja.

"Hmm… I'm not sure… but I feel like we are not alone."

Charmy, who just finished his meal, belched and moved the food container away before flying over to the area Espio was looking.

"There's no one here, Espio," he said as he flew back to the group.

"Maybe it was just a bird?" Mighty suggested.

"Or the wind," said Ray.

"What do you think, Vector?" Charmy asked.

Vector looked from where Espio was looking towards the ninja's eyes.

"Hmm…"

…

"I think we need some sleep," said Vector.

"See?! Nothing at all, Espio!"

"Charmy, SSSHHH!" Vector shushed him, "Now come on, it's getting late. We've got a long search ahead of us."

Espio wasn't so convinced that it was nothing.

"Espio, come on," said Vector, "I'm sure your just being paranoid."

Espio shot Vector a look.

"Fine," he sighed and followed the team as they headed for Zonshen's home.

"I'm telling you, Espio, there's nothing to worry about," said Vector.

The group was unaware of the pair of red eyes trailing them.

 _A few minutes later…_

"And here's a blanket for you, Charmy," said Zonshen as he handed the fabric to the tired insect.

"Thanks," he yawned as he began to lay it out on the ground.

"Are you sure it's okay for us to rest here?" Ray asked, "I don't mean to sound rude, but it seems like we are being a burden."

"Nonsense!" Zonshen exclaimed, "Any friend of Sonic's is a friend of mine! Now, please, rest up."

"Alright. Thank you."

"Sleep well, fellas," said the elder as he left the room.

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ Dark Suspenseful Music – And in the End ]** (Uploaded by Secession Studios) (0:00)

The Chaotix laid down and began to fall asleep. Except for Vector and Espio, who were quickly planning their next move. But outside the building, trouble was looming. A large robot landed on the roof of the now closed emporium and scanned the area. A couple of SWAT-bots hovered down beside the robot.

"Orders?" they asked in a robotic voice.

The leader held a hand up, indicating he was busy, before lowering it. The SWAT-bots waited patiently. Moments later, the leader raised a fist and directed it towards the building housing the Chaotix.

"Affirmative," the SWAT-bots stated as they raised their arms and prepared their weapons.

Once locked-on, the two SWAT-bots released a barrage of missiles at the structure.

 ***BOOOOMMM***

The resulting explosion instantly weakened the foundation of the building, causing it the completely crumble to the ground. Nearby villagers were instantly startled awake, followed by screams and panic. Once the dust had settled, the two SWAT-bots landed on the rubble and began sifting through the wreckage. Their leader landed dead center of the disaster.

 ***Beep***

The leader answered the incoming call.

" _ **Mecha Sonic, have you begun your mission yet?"**_

The blue robot responded with beeps.

" _ **Excellent. And the Chaotix have been eliminated?"**_

Mecha Sonic looked over to the SWAT-bots, who shook their heads, before responding with a single short beep.

" _ **Wonderful! You have done well, Mecha! You may proceed with the second phase of the mission."**_

Mecha Sonic ended the transmission as dozens of more SWAT-bots began landing around the village. The villagers hid in their homes, unable to defend themselves. Mecha Sonic stood amongst the burning wood and crumbled stone and watched as the platoon went straight to work. Looking around at the wreckage gave Mecha Sonic a disgustingly proud feeling. With the Chaotix now out of the picture, his Lord's plans can now finally go on the offensive. His red eyes burned of pure evil as the villagers watched in terror; Chun-nan was lost. The Lord has won his first battle without even a challenge.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 **Me: Well, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Sorry for making it mostly a filler. And not as long as most chapters.**

 **Silver: I liked it…**

 **Me: Good.**

 **Silver: Except for killing off the Chaotix…**

 **Me: Yeah…**

 ***CRASH***

 **Blaze: You…**

 **Me: Goodbye, world…**

 **Blaze: *Grabs me by the neck* Let's have a little chat…**

 **Me: Silver, help?**

 **Silver: Uh…**

 **To be continued…**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **Would you believe me if I told you I was forced to kill them off because of a bet? Yeah, I didn't think so…**

 **So, I have some… not really bad news, but it's not good; college. Yeah, this spring semester is going to kill me. I'm gonna take about five classes total, so I'm absolutely swamped. That being said, I probably won't be able to post a new chapter every month, but I will try every two months at the very most. However, I have no plans on abandoning this story. And I'm sure as hell won't have someone adopt it (no offense). So, if I don't update as often, now you know.**

 **HOWEVER, I will try and upload one more chapter before February comes around, but I make no promises.**

 **Also, Sylvie in the red dress with bows… too damn cute.**

 **Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Remember to leave a review!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	8. Chapter 8: Getting Into Extreme Gear

**Me: *Yawn* Well… that was eventful.**

 **Silver: At least you lived.**

 **Me: For now. Hopefully Blaze isn't mad anymore…**

 **Sonic: So, we're having another chapter?**

 **Me: Yup. Let's get to it…. and as usual, I only own my characters.**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **I'm baaaaaack. Told ya I would try to get this out before February, but college is really keeping me busy. That being said, updates will be extremely slow until summer. Sorry. But I do have some goodish news at the end of this chapter. And some not so goodish news.**

 **Also, I wanted to say thank you to Zoggerific for the review and here's what I have to say. F*** you. No, I'm kidding, I'm not pissed at you. I actually am glad you pointed some things out.**

 **First; yes, the Prologue A/N is an abomination, as was a bunch of other ones. I tried really hard to condense as much "backstory" about the timeline as I could. And, boy, did I FAIL. I did it just so I could give everyone a grasp of how long Sonic and Eggman have been fighting. However, I did manage to condense all the other A/Ns in the other chapters thus far. In my defense, the first chapter's A/N should be long for certain reasons, but probably not** _ **that**_ **long. I've tried to shorten it, but it's just not gonna happen as of now.**

 **Second; I did not introduce Sonic right off the bat in the chapter. Story-wise, yes, but 'Wisps' is not Sonic. I'm sure you figured that out, but Sonic's appearance in the prologue was just there mainly for show.**

 **Third; those questions will all be answered as the story progresses. Which will be roughly 20,000 years until I reach the end. *cries in corner* In all seriousness, this story is going to be long. So, be prepared… well, probably for a totally crappy story, I dunno.**

 **But, please, everyone, give me reviews! I want more! MOAR!**

 ***Ahem***

 **On the topic of reviews, not one person, and by that, I mean the only two people who have actually reviewed this crap so far *Eye roll*, have said anything about the music I've included in the story. Is it good? Is it bad? Does it bring more mood to the events in the story? Is it a waste of space? Am I wasting your time!? TELL ME!**

 ***Eye twitch***

 **Now, for the main event! Pizza. *Nom nom nom* *Buuurrrp* And now for the** _ **real**_ **main event! Enjoy! MMMmmm… pizza….**

 **Also, this chapter is unintentionally heavier on Silver and Blaze than I wanted. Sorry. As the story progresses, the pairings will be more sporadic and spread out.**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**

 ***Update 2/17/19* - Additional note at end of chapter.**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

Chapter 8: Getting Into Extreme Gear

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Chun-nan Village_

 **[ Dark Black Core – The old factory – part two [Full Album] Dark Ambient ]** (Uploaded by Dark Black Core) (I'm sick of doing these timestamps, assume it's 0:00 unless stated otherwise)

"Come with us, humans!" a SWAT-bot ordered.

The two villagers held their hands above their heads as they were led through the destroyed door of their home and herded towards the other captured villagers. It was only a couple of minutes ago that Mecha Sonic commanded the attack that buried the Chaotix and the village elder under tons of rubble. Now, with no one to aid the villagers, the robots were able to pen them up in a large metal cage as if they were animals getting ready for slaughter. Many of the homes in the village had already been searched for prisoners. Mecha Sonic walked by the cage as he approached some high-ranking SWAT-bots.

"Hey, you blue scrap heap!" shouted one of the prisoners, "Can I get something to eat!?"

Mecha Sonic dashed towards the cage, scaring the bejeezus out of all the prisoners as his fist slammed against the cage with a loud bang. After getting his point across, Mecha Sonic resumed his approach towards the SWAT-bot.

"Orders, sir?" it asked.

Mecha Sonic made a few beeping noises.

"All villagers have been contained, sir, except for the one known as Zonshen," the SWAT-bot stated.

Mecha Sonic nodded and flew a few feet into the air. HE scanned the area to see how progress was going. His eyes caught sight of two SWAT-bots that appeared to be lounging around in chairs, doing nothing. Mecha Sonic flew over and landed beside them. Annoyed that they didn't pay attention to his loud approach, Mecha asked them what they were doing.

…

He asked again.

…

Already having enough of the insubordination, Mecha grabbed the two SWAT-bots by their necks and raised them up. But something was wrong; only their heads came up. Alarmed, Mecha quickly examined their bodies and found that they had been completely demolished.

 **(Music fades)**

"Get 'em, boys!" a voice shouted from behind.

Mecha Sonic turned around and saw a green crocodile rushing towards him.

 ***WHAM***

Vector punched Mecha's face and sent the robot flying a few feet into the air. Mecha recovered and began hovering in the air. He looked around and saw the impossible: the Chaotix… _fighting his squads._ Now, you might be wondering "how on Earth did they survive an explosion?" and the answer is rather simple… probably.

 **What? You thought I would kill them off? Pffft. Pleeeeease. I'm not even a quarter of the way through the story yet… I think.**

 _*** A Few Minutes Earlier… ***_

 **[ Deus Ex – 044 – The Synapse – Ambient ]** (Uploaded by Ragitsu) (Loop if necessary)

"Sleep well, fellas," said the elder as he left the room.

"'Night, Zonshen," the Chaotix replied.

Charmy instantly fell asleep, soon followed by Mighty and Ray. Vector glanced over to Espio and gestured him to the window.

"What's up, boss?" Espio asked quietly.

"I'm not a fool, Espio; you definitely saw something. I didn't see it, and they didn't see it, but you are a master of ninjutsu. For that, I trust your instincts."

Espio nodded.

"What are you thinking?" Vector asked him.

"If I had to guess, we've been followed by the enemy. And they know we're here."

"… Think they know we're here in this building?"

"No doubt about it."

"… Wake the others."

"Boss?"

"If we're being followed, then sleeping is not an option. Wake these three, I'll grab Zonshen. We're getting out of here."

Espio nodded in acknowledgement and silently walked over to his sleeping comrades while Vector left the room to grab Zonshen. He found him walking down the hall.

"Ah, Vector. Having trouble sleeping?"

"A little," Vector replied.

He leaned over to the elder.

"I think something bad has been watching us," Vector whispered.

"My word…" Zonshen whispered, "Are you sure?"

"… No, but I trust my friend's instincts."

"I see…"

"Is there another way out of the building?"

"Hmm… yes, as a matter of fact, there is."

Espio, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray appeared from the room and approached them.

"What's going on, Vector?" Mighty asked quietly.

"Trouble," he replied, "Zonshen is going to show us a way out of the building that's _not_ the front door."

"Alright, lead the way," said Espio.

Zonshen led the team downstairs and into a small room that looked like a panty.

"Here," he said, pointing to the rug on the ground.

Ray lifted it up and revealed a hidden trapdoor that led outside. Wasting no time, Espio opened it and peaked inside.

"This will do," he announced, "Let me check and see if anything is out there."

Espio vanished. A few seconds later, he returned. His eyes screamed of urgency.

"We need to leave, _now_ ," he said quickly.

"Huh? What's going on, Espio?" the elder asked.

Espio grabbed Zonshen and carried him into the tunnel. The Chaotix all entered the tunnel just as missiles flew into the building.

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** Present ***_

 ***CLANG***

The electronic lock that was caging the villagers fell to the ground. Mighty ripped the door off its hinges and threw it into a group of SWAT-bots, knocking them all the to ground. It was getting a little chaotic in the village, now that Mecha Sonic and the SWAT-bots knew the Chaotix were still alive and kicking… their metal asses.

"My, you are quite strong," Zonshen noted.

Mighty nodded.

"You better get the villagers out of here, elder," he said, "Find some place safe. We'll come get you guys once this place isn't crawling with robots."

"… alright. You and your friends be careful!"

Mighty watched as the elder and villagers headed off in the direction of where the Temple of Gaia used to be. He slammed his fist over his shoulder and knocked a sneaking SWAT-bot on its ass. Mighty turned around and slammed his fist on top of the robot's head, shoving it into its head, before kicking it back into the group of SWAT-bots that just got back up after being knocked over by the cage door.

 **[ Vs. Team Chaotix – Sonic Heroes Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

With a kunai in each hand, Espio dashed through the enemy lines and slashed away at their bodies. Seconds later, the SWAT-bots began shaking violently and exploded. Espio slid under another robot as he camouflaged into his surroundings. The robot turned around but couldn't find him anywhere. Shame it couldn't see the incoming bee charging towards its back.

 ***WHAM***

Too late; Charmy had rammed into the SWAT-bot and shoved it into the pond. Although shallow, there was enough damage to the robot's armor to allow water to seep through and short out its circuits. As Charmy looked upon the defeated foe, he caught a glimpse of a couple of more SWAT-bots charging towards him.

"Uh oh…"

"Charmy!" Ray shouted from above, "Gimme a boost!"

Charmy looked up and nodded.

"On it!"

Ray dove towards Charmy as he flew up a couple feet. He reached out and grabbed Ray's held out hand and launched him towards the charging SWAT-bots. Ray curled up and began spin dashing before barging through the group and sending bits and pieces of metal flying every. Using momentum, Ray uncurled and glided back into the air.

Mecha Sonic was not please one bit as he watched the fight take place before him from the air. A scoff from Vector brought his attention back to his attacker.

"So, you wanna pick a fight, do ya?" Vector taunted as he cracked his knuckles.

Mecha glared at the Chaotix leader before flying towards him. Vector held up his arms as the robot collided into him. Mecha kneed Vector in the stomach.

"UUgghh!"

The foe grabbed Vector's arms and threw him over his shoulder. Vector crashed into wall and slumped to the ground.

"Ow…" he muttered as he got back up, "that really hurt…"

He glanced over at Mecha Sonic as he went for another dash at Vector. Suddenly, Mighty came in like a bat out of Hell and slammed his right shoulder into the mech; Mecha Sonic crashed into one of the now empty houses and was momentarily stunned.

"Thanks for watchin' my back, Mighty," Vector told the armadillo.

Mighty gave Vector a thumbs up and went back to smashing some SWAT-bots. Vector smirked as he turned his attention back to Mecha Sonic.

"Time for some payback for that cheap shot," he muttered as he marched over to the recovering robot.

Up above, Charmy and Ray were working together fighting off some SWAT-bots that had hover units attacked to their backs. Easier said than done, since the robots had fully automatic weapons on their wrists.

"This is not my idea of a vacation!" Charmy exclaimed as he ducked under another bullet.

"Less talking, more fighting!" Ray retorted as he clung onto the back of the robot that shot at his friend.

The SWAT-bot tried to reach behind itself and grab the flying squirrel but couldn't reach. Charmy took the opportunity to charge the robot and impale his stinger into its head. The force of the blow ripped the mech's head clean off. As the body fell, Ray hopped off and glided back into the air.

"Good aim," Ray commented.

Charmy nodded and the two carried on with the other SWAT-bots. Down on the ground, Espio was still tormenting the SWAT-bots with his invisibility.

" _Not good,"_ the ninja thought to himself, _"At this rate, I'll be completely out of kunai."_

While he's taken out a number of SWAT-bots by throwing knives at them, the blades themselves don't grow on trees. When he could, Espio would try to recover any that were still intact after destroying a robot. As he kicked another SWAT-bot into the pond, while pulling his kunai out of its back, he noticed a group of SWAT-bots arriving by air that were different compared to the others. They were a dark green, rather than the dark cobalt color the ones the Chaotix had been fighting and had no visible indications that they had weapons on them.

" _Things might have just gotten a bit harder."_

Meanwhile, Vector and Mecha Sonic were at blows with each other. It had been quite a brawl; Vector now had a forming black eye on his left eye and had a couple of scratches on his arms, while Mecha Sonic had a compromised right elbow joint that caused limited motion and cracked eye lenses. Vector charged the robot for another scuffle, but Mecha Sonic just flew off into the air.

"Huh? Hey! Come back an' fight, ya coward!"

Mecha paid the crocodile no heed as he met with the five new arrivals.

"Orders?" the SWAT-bots asked.

Mecha Sonic replied with a couple of beeps and hand gestures.

"Understood."

The squad dispersed and each made their way to a different member of the Chaotix.

"Great," Vector mumbled, "more trouble."

 **(Music fades)**

Not far from the village, as the last of the villagers entered the grounds of their former site of the Temple of Gaia, Zonshen watched as the Chaotix continued their struggle against the invaders and their new arrivals.

" _Our beautiful home…"_

"Hmm…" the elder hummed, rubbing his chin.

He felt his sleeve being tugged; when he looked down, he noticed it was his granddaughter.

"Will everything be okay, grandfather?" Yilin asked.

Zonshen sighed.

"I do not know, child," he replied solemnly, "But… I think I know who can tip the scale in their favor…"

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Central City, The White House_

"Mr. President, what should we do?"

"Mr. President, I recommend that we wait and see what the Commander has to say."

"No! We can't just sit around and wait! We need to act now, before-"

"Enough!" the President ordered.

The meeting room went silent. The President stood up and adjusted his tie.

"I have listened to this debate long enough," he explained calmly, "As my advisors, you have done more arguing than explaining since we started this meeting. *sigh* I will be in my office, deciding what course of action the United Federation will take in the light of these recent attacks."

"But Mr. President-"

The country leader held out his hand, silencing the advisor.

"As I said, I will be going to my office now. I need time to decide. Give me one hour."

The advisors nodded in agreement. The President thanked them and made his way to his office. It had been a stressful morning for him; a couple hours ago, he was awoken from his slumber to have an emergency meeting with his advisors and secretaries over the recent attack in Adabat and the potential threat against the world as reported from G.U.N. and Agent Rouge. As he entered his office, he closed the double doors behind him.

 **[ Dark Ambient Music (Full) ]** (Uploaded by Sand Guzmán)

"When will this nightmare end?" he sighed.

He walked over to a shelf that had a bottle of whiskey and a few glasses laying on top. He poured himself a glass and carried it over towards his desk. He stood in front of the side window and stared out into the horizon as he took a sip of his drink. As the beverage went down his throat, the President sighed.

"The first threat was the possibility of Julian Robotnik spreading his empire beyond Mobius," he explained out loud, "Then his nephew, Ivo Robotnik, now Dr. Eggman, made attempts at world domination multiple times. Then there was Chaos, the late Gerald Robotnik's plot for revenge, which we all realized was our fault for heinous accusations once the Black Arms invaded."

Silence.

"Dark Gaia and Time Eater later appeared, followed by the worst yet, Infinite; the only person who had ever been successful at defeating Sonic."

The President took another sip as he turned around and sat down at his desk.

"Now, we have an _actual army_ that threatens the world worse than anything we could have feared before."

He glanced over at the photo of Sonic and Shadow taken just weeks prior to the Black Arms invasion.

"You know… I can't just do nothing," the President explained, "If I do nothing, people might suspect something is wrong. If I do something…"

The President shook his head and sighed.

"You may have me under close watch," he muttered, "but know this: Sonic and his team _will_ find you. They _will_ defeat you. And you will pay."

The President glanced up to the center of the room as a SWAT-bot decloaked and stood menacingly in the center of the room.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, the emergency shutters to the doors and windows slammed closed. The lights went out and the emergency lights dimly lit the room up. It was then that the President realized that the robot had been deactivated.

"Wha… what's going on here!?"

…

"Who's there!?"

A dark figure appeared from behind the SWAT-bot, but the room was so badly lit, the President couldn't see any features.

"Tell me, Mr. President…" said a voice.

The President held his breath.

"… what is it that you want so badly?"

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Central City_

"Uuuuuggghhh…" Siris moaned, "How long will I have to wait?"

The shipping manager shrugged.

"I'm sorry, doctor," he replied, "it could take up to a whole day before the supply comes in."

Siris slammed his forehead into the counter.

"Sir?"

Siris began tapping his head against said counter.

"Sir?"

Siris looked back up.

"When's the soonest it will come in?" he asked.

"The soonest?"

Siris nodded.

"Uh… probably four, maybe five hours, if you're lucky."

Siris sighed again.

"Alright… would it be okay if I waited in the lobby?" he asked.

"By all means."

"Thank you."

Siris was not having a great start to his resupply run. He managed to get all the medication he needed except for the morphine. He was told that the transport had a mechanical break down and would be delayed. Siris slumped into one of the nice comfy sofa couches in the lobby of the distributing company. The sun rose from the horizon, shooting the bright morning light into the lobby.

"Great," he muttered, "more time wasted. *sigh* Well… I might as well continue making calls and see if anyone would be alright with taking in my patients for a short period of time."

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Chun-nan Village_

"Well… we're screwed," Mighty grumbled.

The other four members nodded. The new SWAT-bots that arrived were much more powerful than their dark blue counterparts. Not only did they defeat and capture the five Chaotix members, they did it without getting a single scratch on their armor. Now, each of the Chaotix members were on their knees; apprehended by one of the new arrivals; except for Vector and Mighty; Vector had his arms held by two normal SWAT-bots instead, while Mighty had one green and one blue.

"Anyone got a plan?" Charmy asked in vain,

"I'm afraid this may be the end for us," Espio replied.

Mecha Sonic rallied all the remaining SWAT-bots to surround the prisoners, preventing all chances of escape. One of the newer SWAT-bots, the one that took down Vector, had a brief word with it superior before it came over and stood before the Chaotix leader.

"Where are the Chaos Emeralds?" it demanded.

"Bite me," Vector replied.

 ***WUMP***

A hard blow to the stomach took the breath out of the crocodile.

"I'll ask again; where are the Chaos Emeralds?"

Vector groaned as he looked back up and glared at the interrogator.

"I don't know!"

The SWAT-bot shook its head before walking over to Espio.

"Perhaps you will be of use."

Espio glared.

"I'll never give you anything."

"Who says you would be the one talking?"

Before anyone could react, the interrogator grabbed Espio's neck and sent a burst of electricity into his body.

"AAAAAAAAAUUUUGGGHHAAAAUUUGGHHAAAAAUHHHHH!"

The scream was so loud, even the villagers from miles away could hear it clearly. It sent a cold shiver down their spines.

"STOP!" Vector pleaded, "LEAVE MY FRIENDS OUT OF THIS!"

The SWAT-bot ceased the assault. Espio fell forward, held up by his captor, and took many deep breathes, coughing a couple of times.

"Will you speak now?" the SWAT-bot asked.

"Vector…" Espio told him, "don't."

The SWAT-bot grabbed Espio's neck again and shocked him.

"Silence fool!"

Espio screamed in pain again.

"Stop it!" Charmy shouted, "I'll tell, I'll tell!"

The SWAT-bot released Espio, who began gasping for air. He marched over to the bee and leaned forward.

"Tell me… where are they?"

Charmy began to sweat profusely.

"I… uh… I don't know _where_ exactly…"

The SWAT-bot made a move towards Espio again.

"Wait! Wait! I know _who_ might have them!"

"Charmy, don't!" Mighty and Ray cried out.

A strong jerk from their captors almost caused their shoulders to dislocate. Taking the message, the two silenced themselves.

"Tell me, child," the interrogator said darkly, " _who_ has the Chaos Emeralds?"

"Come closer and I'll tell you."

The SWAT-bot leaned forward and Charmy whispered something into its microphones **(why must robots be built to replicate humans?)** that only it could here. The SWAT-bot stood back up.

"Thank you, prisoner."

"Sir? Did he tell you?" one of the SWAT-bots asked.

"Indeed. We must fine Mike Rotch."

 ***Record Scratch* (Pause the music)**

Dead silence fell upon the village as Charmy held in a huge fit of giggles. Although they knew it meant death, the other Chaotix couldn't help but try and hold in their laughter as well.

"Uh… sir? Could you repeat that?" the lower ranked SWAT-bot asked.

"Yes, we must find Mike Rotch."

Immediately the Chaotix exploded into laughter; even Espio was laughing, if you can believe it.

"What? What's so funny!?" the leading SWAT-bot asked.

The Chaotix were laughing so hard, they couldn't even answer. In fact, some of the SWAT-bots even began to laugh. Within seconds, the village was filled with Mobian and robotic laughter.

"Silence. I order you all the be silent!"

The laughter continued.

"Silence!"

No change.

"SILENCE!"

In a fit of rage, the SWAT-bot interrogator released a six-inch blade from its wrist and swiped it at the nearest prisoner.

"AAAUUGGGHH!"

The laughter stopped in a heartbeat as the four other Chaotix turned to their assaulted friend. He turned towards them and revealed his wound.

"Espio…?" they all asked in horror.

 **(Continue the music)**

The chameleon's left eye was bleeding non-stop; he couldn't even open it. His brothers-in-arms glared at the SWAT-bot with rage-filled eyes.

"You bastard!" Vector shouted, "You'll pay for that!"

The SWAT-bot retracted its blade and scoffed as it marched towards Vector.

"You're a dead mech! You're a dead mech."

The robot laughed at Vector's threats.

"Amusing, throwing empty promises like those in vain."

The Chaotix glared at the heartless mech before their eyes softened.

"What's wrong?" the SWAT-bot taunted, "All out of hope?"

"Uh… sir?" one of the inferior robots asked.

"Where's that fighting spirit I've heard so much about from the Chaotix?"

"Sir?"

"Are you going to crawl up and cry for your mommies?"

"Sir!"

"WHAT IS IT!?"

 ***CRASH***

Something very large had landed behind the interrogator. The SWAT-bot turned around to see who or what dared to interrupt it. It was a bit nervous when it realized it was looking at a pair of very large talons. Everyone looked up and saw what appeared to be a very large and brightly colored avian. It spread its wings and screeched into the night.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

 **(Music fades)**

 _*** 5 Minutes Earlier ***_

"Look, grandfather! There it is!" Yilin exclaimed, pointing to the large nest that was perched on the top of some very tall boulders.

"Goodness, me! Those foul machinations had tied the poor protector down!" Zonshen exclaimed.

The villagers all turned and saw that the Dark Gaia Phoenix was sprawled out in its nest and held down in place by a very strong steel metal net. The Phoenix must have been tied down for quite some time because it was too exhausted to even try and free itself.

"How will we be able to free it?" one of the villagers asked.

"There's no way we'll be able to break through that net," another noted.

Zonshen chuckled.

"Have no fear, good people," he said to them, "I may be well-known for my herbal medicine concoctions; but even I have come across other substances during my years of experimentation."

The villagers looked at one another with confusion.

"What do you mean, grandpa?" Zonshen's grandson, Chun, asked.

The elder gave him a toothy smile as he pulled out some herbal mixes he had on him.

"Watch and learn, young'un."

 _*** Present ***_

 **[ Boss – Dark Gaia's Spawn – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

 **So, in case you ever want to take over Chun-nan, let's get one thing straight: you better make sure you have** _ **securely**_ **trapped the Dark Gaia Phoenix. Otherwise…**

"All forces… ATTACK!"

The SWAT-bots all aimed their weapons at the Phoenix and fired upon it. The protector defended itself by covering its body with its wings. The attacks did nothing.

"What is this!? Squads! Continue the-"

 ***WHAM***

Before the SWAT-bot leader could give the order, the Dark Gaia Phoenix slashed its wings out and unleashed a whirlwind blowing into the robots. With the leader and the Chaotix captors as the exceptions, all the SWAT-bots were blown across the ground; some landing in the pond, others crashing into walls and debris.

… **you'll be up shit's creek when this pissed off bad boy is freed and comes for you.**

The SWAT-bot leader flew up in the air and attempted to stab the creature's eyes. However, the Phoenix was not having it. Before the robot could attack, the Phoenix grabbed it with its beak and with a single bite…

 ***SCRUNTCH***

… the SWAT-bot was cut in two.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

The Chaotix were staring in awe of the mighty Phoenix, with Espio using only one eye. Vector noticed that the SWAT-bots holding him down were too distracted to keep a strong grip on his arms. Using all his strength, Vector slipped out of the restraining hands and swung his fist around, clobbering both SWAT-bots. The robots crashed into a wall and blew up. The other Chaotix members and their captors turned towards him.

"Payback time, boys," he smirked.

Mighty grinned as he broke free from his captor, picked the robot up and slammed it into Charmy and Ray's captors. The four Mobians turned towards the remaining captor that was holding down their wounded friend.

"Uh…"

The four Chaotix members cracked their knuckles.

"…shit."

 _10 Seconds Later…_

After smashing the robot into Skyrim- sorry, _oblivion_ , **(been playing Skyrim again)** Mighty and Ray helped Espio up to his feet.

"Espio? Are you alright?" Vector asked with concern.

"I… I'm not sure…" Espio replied, holding his hand over his bleeding eye, "I can't see out of my eye…"

The Chaotix felt a lump in their throats.

"You… you'll be fine, Espio!" said Vector, "Charmy, take Espio and get him someplace safe!"

"On it, boss!"

Espio held up his free hand.

"No, I'm not leaving," he stated, "I can still fight!"

"The Hell you are, Espio!" Vector remarked, "You need to see a doctor, and fast!"

"But-"

"No 'buts'!"

"… fine," the chameleon sighed.

Vector nodded and motioned Charmy to get a move on. He, Mighty, and Ray watched as Charmy held on to Espio's hand and flew off to where the villagers were heading. The two younger Mobians looked up to their leader.

"What's the plan, Vector?" Ray asked.

"Isn't it obvious?" he asked as he looked over to the battle occurring, "We go in and kick some robot ass."

 ***CRASH***

The three turned and saw that one of the enhanced SWAT-bots had been thrown into the ground next to them, thanks to a certain angry bird.

"Hey… what's that?" Mighty asked when he noticed something inside the mangled mess of metal, "There's something in its chest."

The trio walked up to the SWAT-bot carcass and examined it. Vector reached in and pulled out a green piece glass.

"Hey, isn't that a fragment of the Master Emerald?" Ray asked.

Vector examined the fragment closer.

"I dunno, Ray," he replied, "It looks a little different than I remember."

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

The trio turned their attention back to the Phoenix, which was shooting feathers at the assaulting SWAT-bots.

"We'll worry about this later," said Vector, "It's time to rock!"

Mighty and Ray nodded and made their way into the fray. Vector was about to follow them when he saw something in the corner of his eye.

'Hm?"

He saw Mecha Sonic hovering in the distance, watching the entire event from a safe distance. When it noticed Vector's store, it turned around and blasted off into the distance.

" _Where's that coward off to?"_

"Vector!" Mighty called out, getting the crocodile's attention, "Look!"

Vector followed where Mighty was pointing towards in the sky.

"ESPIO!?"

The ninja was diving towards the ground, kunai in each hand and ready to fight. Vector saw Charmy and gave him an exasperated expression.

"I tried!" was all Charmy would reason with a shrug.

"Oh, fine, then!" Vector exclaimed, "But if he gets hurt again, it's on you, pal!"

Charmy gave Vector a playful salute before charging into battle.

"I need a vacation," Vector muttered before following Charmy's lead.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Central City_

 **And now, a brief update on Siris' attempt to get his supply of morphine to distract you from all the pure rage and brutality that has been set upon the dumbass SWAT-bots…**

Siris was snoozing away in his seat as the sun continued to rise in the horizon. The shipping manager walked over to him.

"Uh, excuse me, sir?"

Siris continued to snore lightly.

"Sir?" the manager asked again, this time shaking Siris.

"Hmm? Wha?" Siris moaned as he stretched in his seat, "Oh, it's you. What's up?"

The manager smiled.

"I have some good news. The shipment of morphine is back on track and will be here in a couple of hours."

Siris raised a brow.

"And you woke me up… just to tell me this?"

The manager began to feel nervous.

"Uh… I-I'm sorry!" he said, "I thought it would be rude of me if I didn't tell you-"

"Dude…" Siris said flatly, "I'm just messing with you. Calm down."

"Oh… well, uh…"

"Seriously, relax. Okay? And thank you for telling me."

"Of course."

Siris nodded and dozed back to sleep as the manager left him alone in the lobby.

 **This has been the brief update on Siris' attempt to get his supply of morphine. This update is sponsored by no one because I don't make money off this piece of crap story. We now return to your regularly scheduled story of robots getting pulverized.**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Chun-nan Village_

 **[ Chun-nan Night – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

"Boss," Espio called out, "Charmy found another one!"

Vector turned around and walked over to his partners. Charmy handed Vector what appeared to be another Master Emerald fragment, which was also housed in one of the enhanced SWAT-bots.

"That's a total of five shards now!" Vector exclaimed.

 ***WHAM***

Another generic SWAT-bot was rushing behind the group, but a quick swipe from the Dark Gaia Phoenix sent the robot flying into a wall. **How many walls are even left standing!?** In the last five minutes, the Dark Gaia Phoenix and the Chaotix have successfully destroyed ever single SWAT-bot, both regular and enhanced, in the entire village. The Phoenix was now busy roosting in the center of the village as the villagers began returning to their home. Mighty and Ray were pulling Zonshen along towards the group.

"Vector, we've got the elder!" Ray exclaimed.

Vector, Espio, and Charmy looked over to see that they had brought Zonshen.

"Good work, you two," said Vector, "Zonshen, I understand that you are no doctor, but we could use your help."

"Yes… yes… *pant* Just *wheeze* give me a… moment," the elder panted.

 _One moment later…_

"Alright, Espio, let's see the extent of your injury," said Zonshen.

Espio, who hadn't opened his eye since the incident, nodded and sat down in front of the elder. Vector, Charmy, Mighty, and Ray waited impatiently and anxiously as the elder carefully opened Espio's left eye. The two quietly conversed with each other for a few seconds.

"Well?" they asked.

Zonshen turned to the Chaotix with sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, boys…"

The team hung their heads.

"But there's nothing wrong with his eye."

They shot their heads up.

"WHAT!?" they screamed.

Zonshen gave them a chuckle.

"Calm down, boys. Espio's eye is fine; he's just got some blood covering his eye, which was why he couldn't see."

The Chaotix turned to look at Espio, who was smirking with _both_ eyes open and intact.

"Oh, thank God and Chaos," Vector sighed as he fell to the ground on his butt.

"He'll need stitches for sure, however," Zonshen continued, "He's lucky that gash was the only thing he received. One inch closer to the right and would have lost his eye for sure."

A shiver went down all the Chaotix member's backs.

"Well, I'm glad you're still in one piece," said Charmy.

"Me, too," Mighty and Ray said at the same time.

"I'm fine," said Espio.

He looked around the village with a sad look on his face.

"… this village, on the other hand…"

The others looked around and saw the complete disaster the robots had caused. Many buildings had holes in the walls, open to exposure. Some homes were completely destroyed, like Zonshen's. The Chaotix sighed with heavy hearts.

"Now, you boys stop that this instant!" the elder ordered them, "Our home can and _will_ be repaired! You should be proud of yourselves; all the villagers are here and are all unharmed."

The guys took another look around and noticed that the villagers had been showing some form of gratitude for their efforts, making them feel much better.

"Zonshen, may I ask you something?" Mighty asked.

The elder looked over from Espio's wound that he was treating with an herbal remedy.

"Of course, what would you like to know?"

Mighty pointed to the roosting Dark Gaia Phoenix behind him.

"What the heck is that thing?" he asked.

The Phoenix looked over and appeared to have an "excuse me!?" expression on its face. The elder chuckled.

"This, my friends, is the village protector: the great Dark Gaia Phoenix."

"Dark Gaia… _Phoenix_?" Espio asked, holding a towel over his wound.

"Yes," Zonshen continued, "For thousands, or perhaps even millions of years, this majestic creature has guarded the Temple of Gaia that was once located here and our village."

"That's right," said Espio, "Sonic told me, Vector, and Charmy about that. When the planet was shattered and the Chaos Emeralds lost their power, the creature succumbed to the darkness in its heart and attack any and all who dared approach the village. You included."

Zonshen nodded.

"Indeed. But it was not the creature's fault," he said as he walked over and patted the beast's feathered belly, "Unlike other guardians, this creature was not a spawn of Dark Gaia. His intentions were to only protect these sacred lands."

"But why didn't it come help us sooner?" Vector asked, "If he's a protector, why didn't it prevent this whole attack from happening?"

Zonshen sighed as the creature lowered its head.

"When I took the villagers to a safer location, I asked that they help me search for the Phoenix. I was unusual for it to not come an protect us. My fears were confirmed when we discovered the creature trapped under a strong metal net."

"Hmm…" Vector hummed as he began to think.

"Luckily, I happened to have some strong acidic solution with me," said the elder.

"*Pffft* Awfully convenient," Charmy remarked.

"Indeed," Zonshen agreed.

Espio got up and walked over to the large beast.

"I must thank you for saving our lives, O Great One," he said, bowing his head.

"As do I," said Vector, snapping out of his thoughts.

The other three agreed as well.

"SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEECH!"

The Chaotix took an uneasy step back. Zonshen chuckled again.

"Fear not," he said, "he means no ill; it's just his way of accepting your gratitude."

The Chaotix looked at one another before they joined in on the elder's chuckles. Within seconds the villagers had joined in and were all laughing. Mighty opened his eyes and instantly stopped laughing.

"Uh… guys?" he said nervously.

Everyone stopped laughing and turned to Mighty.

"What's up?" Ray asked.

Mighty pointed towards the village entrance.

"Uh oh…" Ray muttered.

"Crap," Vector moaned.

Knuckles and Rouge entered the village; looking around in slight disbelief of the destruction they were seeing. Once they were standing before the Chaotix, they looked at them with questioning expressions.

" _What… happened_?" they asked.

The Chaotix began to sweat nervously.

"Look…" Charmy began, "we can explain…"

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Blue Moon Village_

It had been a whole day since Siris left Sylvie to stay with Nephy, and Sylvie was beginning to feel anxious. This was the first time she had been separated from Siris because he had to travel, and she was already… missing him? Sylvie shook her head as she remained seated on the couch in Nephy's living room. Like Siris' house, Nephy's apartment was large enough for two or three people live in; but had a larger kitchen. The guest room was smaller than her own room, but Sylvie was still grateful for having a bed to sleep in.

For the first few nights she lived with Siris, Sylvie slept on the floor of her room, unbeknownst to him. It wasn't until Siris started opening up to her that she did as well. When she told him about her sleeping on the floor, even now she couldn't understand why he slammed his head on the dinner table. But after that conversation, she finally did as she was asked and slept in her bed. For the first time since she could remember, she was able to sleep on something comfortable. But the comfort never erased the nightmares she's been suffering over the years. She still hasn't told Siris about those. Although she had opened up a little bit of herself to her new master, she was still very untrusting of Siris. Since the day in the café, she wasn't sure whether to hold on to hope or just give up and do what any slave should do and service their master in any way that would please them.

"Why the long face?" asked a voice, startling Sylvie.

 **[ Undertale OST – sans. Extended ]** (Uploaded by Etu Tran)

She looked over and saw Nephy walking toward her. She was wearing some grey sweatpants and a crimson red t-shirt. She plopped down on the sofa and leaned back.

Nephy took the day off from work today to keep an eye on Sylvie. Normally Nephy hated taking unnecessary days off from work, mostly because she hates missing out on teasing Siris. Truth be told, she kinda had a crush on Siris. _Had_ , as in past tense; once she got to know Siris a bit more, Nephy restrained herself from asking Siris out on a date. Now, she sees him as a friend… sorta. Okay, so she might still have a teeny tiny crush on him, and Siris knows it. But she's content with teasing him until the end of time. May God and Chaos have mercy on his soul.

Nephy tried to get some answers out of Sylvie the day before about what she had been doing during the time she had lived with Siris so far. But Sylvie was too nervous, and a bit scared, to say anything. So with no answers, Nephy gave up and showed Sylvie where she could stay as they both went to bed. All day today, Sylvie had done nothing but sit on the couch and look around the living room. Nephy tried asking her some questions occasionally, but Sylvie just gave either vague answers or refused to answer.

"Sorry for the scare, Sylvie," she apologized, "So tell me, why the long face?"

Sylvie looked confused.

"Eh? I have a long face?"

Nephy giggled.

"No, silly; it's a figure of speech. I was asking why you look so down," she explained.

"Oh…"

Sylvie looked down to the floor as she fidgeted with her blue nightgown.

"I'm fine, Nephy."

Nephy gave her a look.

"No, you're not. Come on, tell me!" Nephy said excitedly.

"Well… it's just that… I don't have anything to do here," Sylvie replied timidly.

" _Nothing_ to do?!" Nephy exclaimed before laughing.

"Eh?"

"Oh, Sylvie, you are so shy~."

"Mmm…"

Nephy decided to try and poke the hornet's nest again, before the hornet… king returns… I guess?

"You miss Siris?"

Sylvie glanced over to the smirking hedgehog.

"Well… I don't like being away from him," she admitted.

Nephy's smirk grew.

"Ooohhh~… Is that so?"

"Yes."

Nephy giggled.

"Why don't you like being away from Siris?"

Sylvie's knees locked together as she continued to fidget with her hands.

"Well… I feel… better when he's nearby."

Nephy now had her head propped on her right hand as her right arm supported both against the armrest.

"Wooooo~," she teased, "Someone's got the hots for someone."

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion, again.

"Eh?"

Nephy just made a bigger smirk as she shook her head.

"Sylvie, can I ask you a personal question?"

Sylvie's ears lowered; she wasn't sure if Siris would be okay if she told Nephy about their "relationship".

"I guess I can try to answer the best I can," Sylvie replied softly.

Nephy leaned in close to Sylvie, making her feel a little uncomfortable.

"Do you _like_ Siris?"

Sylvie's eyes widened as she began to blush and look away from Nephy.

"Huh? Eh… what?"

"Do. You. Like. Siris?"

Sylvie's mind was so overwhelmed with nervousness and embarrassment that she just said the first thing that came to her head.

"I-It would be wrong for a slave like me to harbor such feelings for their master."

…

…

…

Sylvie realized what she had just said and instantly put her hands over her mouth. She slowly turned her head until her gaze was connected with Nephy's eyes. But instead of disgust in Nephy's face, which she was expecting, Sylvie just saw the same smirking expression as before.

"That didn't answer my question, Sylvie~," she told the flummoxed hedgehog.

Sylvie didn't respond.

"Sylvie? Hello?"

Nephy finally noticed the fear in Sylvie's eyes.

"Oh, are you worried about the whole 'master and slave' thing being kept a secret?"

Sylvie nodded her head.

"Aw, don't worry about it. Aurelia and I already know."

Sylvie was about to have a panic attack.

"Sylvie, calm down; Aurelia and I know Siris isn't treating you like dirt. And he also knows that we know. No one else knows. In fact, we're glad that _he_ was the one to take you in!"

The panicked hedgehog seemed to have calmed a bit when she heard that.

"Eh? Glad?"

Nephy nodded.

"Mm-hm! He's had it rough these past two years," Nephy explained, "Before you even came into the picture, I rarely ever saw him smile, let alone crack a joke!"

"Eh?"

Nephy glared at Sylvie.

"Did… did Siris not tell you?"

"No…" Sylvie replied as she shook her head, "I don't think so…"

"Did he tell you about what happened two years ago?"

Sylvie shook her head again.

"Oh… oops. Uh, listen Sylvie… don't… don't tell Siris I mentioned that to you, okay?"

"Eh? Why?"

"Just… don't. It's something that he is very, _very_ sensitive about. And it would be best if he tells you when he's ready. So… don't ask him about it, okay?"

Sylvie was not sure why Nephy was acting nervously, but she agreed, nonetheless. Nephy sighed.

"Thanks, Sylvie," she said as she gave the smaller hedgehog a quick soft hug, "You are a good friend."

" _Friend?"_ Sylvie thought, giving her a warm feeling inside even though the hug felt awkward.

"I'm… a friend?" she asked timidly.

Nephy laughed.

"Of course, silly! I mean… you're not a very talkative one, sure, but you are still a friend."

Sylvie smiled a little when she heard Nephy call her a friend. Suddenly, there was a knock at the door.

" _Is Siris back from his trip?"_ Sylvie thought with a little hope.

"Ooh, she's here~!" Nephy sang.

"Eh?"

Sylvie was a little disappointed when she heard 'she' instead of 'he', but she was curious of who it was. Nephy pranced over to the front door and flew it open.

"Come on in~!"

Nephy instantly recognized who the visitor was that walked in and strolled over to her.

"Evening, sweetie," said Aurelia.

"Hello, Aurelia," Sylvie replied timidly.

Aurelia gave her a large grin. Sylvie noticed she was wearing the same outfit when she first met her. **Yes, I'm too lazy to describe the whole outfit from Chapter 4. What, got a problem? Bite me.** Aurelia's bycoket almost tapped Sylvie on top of her head when she bent down to hug her. The hug made Sylvie feel awkward again.

"So, what have you two been up to?" Aurelia asked as she pulled away from Sylvie.

"Not much," Nephy replied as she sat back down next to Sylvie, "I did have to tell Sylvie that we knew about her and Siris' relationship of him being her 'master'."

Aurelia glared at Nephy.

"Hey, don't blame me," she remarked, "I asked Sylvie if she liked Siris and she accidentally let it slip that she was a 'slave'."

Aurelia turned back to Sylvie.

"Is this true?" she asked the silver colored hedgehog.

Sylvie nodded her head.

"Well…" said Aurelia, "I suppose that clears that up. As long as no one else gets the wrong idea, I'm sure it will all come together in no time."

Nephy smirked while Sylvie just looked at the blonde with confusion.

"Eh?"

"Oh, don't you worry, Sylvie," Aurelia smirked, "There's nothing you need to worry about."

"Now that I think about it," Nephy remarked, "you never _did_ answer my question, Sylvie."

Sylvie turned to Nephy.

"Eh?"

"Do you like Siris?" she asked for the third time.

Sylvie looked from Nephy to Aurelia and back, nerved by the way they were smirking at her.

"I…"

Nephy and Aurelia leaned in a bit closer.

"I don't think it matters how I feel…" Sylvie replied softly, "I do feel… comfortable when I'm around him… but I'm nothing but a slave. No one would ever want to be with a slave."

Sylvie's ears lowered.

"No one would ever want to be with me," she whispered so Nephy and Aurelia couldn't hear.

 **(Music fades)**

Suddenly, Sylvie's communicator went off, startling the poor girl for the second time that evening. Recollecting herself, Sylvie answered the call. A static video image appeared.

"H-hello?"

" _ **Hey, Sylvie, it's Siris."**_

 **[ Cheerful and Upbeat Music – Happy Background Music – Uplifting and Fun Instrumental Music ]** (Uploaded by Live Better Media)

Siris' image came into view on the video feed. Sylvie felt something course through her body that felt… good?

"Oh, Siris, hello," Sylvie replied, "Are you coming home soon?"

" _ **I'm on my way back now. Finally got all my supplies after a delay with the shipping. I'm getting on a plane heading for Spagonia and I should be back home by morning."**_

" _Siris is coming home soon?"_ Sylvie thought happily.

"Awesome~!" Nephy exclaimed as she scooted beside Sylvie, "Another sleepover night~!"

" _ **Thank you for the ringing in my ears, Nephy…"**_ Siris muttered.

Aurelia giggled.

" _ **Wait… is there someone else there?"**_ Siris asked.

Aurelia moved beside Sylvie and waved to the camera. Siris deadpanned.

" _ **Why am I not surprised?"**_

"Hello, Siris," Aurelia teased.

" _ **Hey, Aurelia,"**_ said Siris, _**"Since you're all in the same room, I assume things are going well?"**_

Nephy and Aurelia turned and grinned at each other.

"You could say that…" Nephy said cryptically causing Siris to sigh.

" _ **I should have known you two would be up to something,"**_ he said flatly.

Siris noticed Sylvie was staring at him. Was she… smiling a little?

" _ **Sylvie?"**_

She shook her head a little.

"Huh? Uh… yes, Siris?"

" _ **Are you okay? You look…"**_

Sylvie felt like she was just caught doing something she shouldn't have done.

"… _**distracted. Are you okay?"**_

"I'm… fine, Ma- Siris."

Siris stared at Sylvie for a moment.

" _ **Oh… right, I forgot to tell you, Sylvie-"**_

"We told her we already knew, Siris," Nephy interrupted.

" _ **Is that so? Hm… well, okay. *Ahem* I was just calling to check on things and let you know that I'll be home by morning to pick you up."**_

"Okay," Sylvie replied.

" _ **Good. Glad everything's going well. I'll see you tomorrow, Sylvie. Have a good night."**_

"Wait," said Sylvie.

Siris looked back into the camera, a bit surprised.

" _ **Something wrong, Sylvie?"**_

"Ummm… well…"

…

"I just wanted to tell you to have a safe trip home," she said timidly.

" _ **Oh. Well, thank you, Sylvie. I will. Well, I'll see ya tomorrow. Bye."**_

"Goodbye."

Sylvie ended to call and sighed.

 **(Music fades)**

Nephy and Aurelia giggled.

"What?" Sylvie asked them.

"Sylvie," said Aurelia, "your face is _so_ red."

Sylvie shyly looked away from them.

"Oh, relax, Sylvie," Nephy teased, "Your secret is safe with us."

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion.

"My… secret?"

Nephy gave a hefty sigh as Aurelia shook her head.

"Never mind," said Nephy, "How about we have some dinner. I make a mean roast beef panini."

"Eh? Pa-nee-nee?"

Nephy grinned.

"Oh, how much you have missed out on in life, my friend…"

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Tails' Workshop_

"Really?" Tails asked into his communicator, "That would be great!"

"…"

"No, that's alright, just send me all that you have in stock, I'll make do with it."

"…"

"Okay, thank you. Goodbye."

Tails hung up and sighed in relief as he turned to the deactivated Omega.

"Don't worry, Omega; the shipment of materials is on the way here!"

…

"Heh… look at me, talking to a deactivated robot… again. I must be crazy."

Tails rubbed his chin as he went through his memories.

"Well… I suppose Sonic _did_ talk to that destroyed robot back on Planet Wisp after he fought it," Tails said with a smirk.

Tails checked the time and saw that it was half past noon.

"Man, time sure moves slowly when making these shipping orders."

Tails went over and resumed the minor repairs he was working on Omega before he was called back by the manufacturing company. While he worked, his mind occasionally would go back to Siris.

" _I can't explain it… but I'm sure I've met Siris somewhere before. I must have! I never met him the day he and Sonic… well, mostly Sonic, when they defeated Robotnik all those years ago. Sonic did mention to me that he was briefly at the celebration, but I never saw him. So… where did I-"_

 ***BOOM***

"Huh?"

Tails ran outside after hearing what sounded like a sonic boom. Looking around he noticed what appeared to be a blue streak moving in the distance.

"Sonic?"

 ***WHOOSH***

Tails was a bit surprised to see the blue blur himself standing in front of him.

"Hey, Tails."

Before the kitsune could respond, Sonic dashed into the workshop and came back seconds later with his Blue Star Extreme Gear and was wearing all his EX attire; sunglasses, white gloves with black cuffs, and his EX pair of shoes.

 **Quick note: unless stated, assume everyone's gear is Free Riders version.**

"Uh… what's with-" Tails began speaking.

"Long story short, EX World Grand Prix is in three days, winner gets a Chaos Emerald. Bye, Tails!" Sonic quickly explained before dashing off.

 ***BOOM***

"Uh… okay?" Tails said, befuddled.

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _South Island, Sunset Heights_

 **[ Upbeat Instrumental Work Music | Background Happy Energetic Relaxing Music for Working Fast & Focus ] **(Uploaded by Live Better Media)

"Thanks for the lift, Silver," said Amy as the psychokinetic hedgehog gently lowered her, himself, and Blaze to the ground.

"No problem, Amy," he replied, "Besides, it was the fastest way for all of us to get our gear while Sonic grabs his from Tails' workshop."

"Yeah, I know," Amy slightly pouted.

She didn't want to be away from Sonic after him being gone for so long. Guess some things never change.

"So, Blaze," said Amy, "are you sure you want to register for the Grand Prix?"

Blaze nodded.

"Are you sure?" Silver asked, "I mean, the EX World Grand Prix is quite competitive; have you ever ridden an Extreme Gear before?"

"No," Blaze replied, "But how hard could be it be?"

"Well…" Silver began but couldn't think of an answer.

"It's not _that_ hard, Blaze," Amy answered, "Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and I all did well in the first EX World Grand Prix, and none of us had prior experience!"

Silver bobbed his head in agreement.

"I'm sure you'll do fine," Silver admitted, albeit reluctantly.

"Amy!" a voice called out.

The trio turned and saw a familiar rabbit and her mother and little Chao friend.

"Cream!" Amy exclaimed as she embraced her best friend, "It's _so_ good to see you again!"

Cream looked over to the others.

"Blaze!" Cream cried out.

Blaze walked over and gave her a hug.

"It's good to see you again too, Cream."

"Hey, Vanilla," Amy said to the older rabbit.

"Welcome home, Amy," she replied, giving her a hug.

"Chao chao!"

Amy giggled,

"Yes, it's good to see you again as well, Cheese."

Vanilla turned and noticed Silver was slightly distanced away from the group.

"It's good to see you doing well, Silver," she said to him.

He gave her a small smirk and nodded.

"So," Vanilla said, "will you three be staying long?"

"I'm afraid not, Vanilla," Amy replied, "We were just dropping by to grab some gear and head back off to Soleanna."

"Chao?"

"Soleanna?" Cream asked, "Why?"

"The EX World Grand Prix is happening in three days there," Blaze explained, "Sonic, Amy, Silver, and I are going to compete to win a Chaos Emerald."

"Ohhhhh…" said Cream, "So you've found another one already?"

Amy had been keeping close contact with her; updating her on what's been going on and hearing from Cream how reconstruction was doing.

"Well… _maybe_ ," said Silver, "We don't actually know _if_ it's a Chaos Emerald or not, but we weren't going to let the possible pass us by."

Vanilla nudged her daughter slightly and whispered something into her ear.

"Huh? Oh, okay!" Cream said to her, "Amy, Blaze, why don't we go inside and talk?"

"Sure, Cream! There's _a lot_ to talk about!" Amy grinned, "Come on inside. Let me just get the door open."

Amy unlocked the front door to her house, and everyone began entering.

"Excuse me, Silver? A word?" Vanilla asked before Silver could enter to building.

"Huh?"

"It will only take a couple of minutes," Vanilla promised.

"Uh, sure."

 **(Music fades)**

 **[ Soft Calm Music: Meditation Music, Peaceful Music, Stress Relief Music (Light of Hope) ] (No, not the Sonic Forces song.)** (Uploaded by Jason Stephenson – Sleep Meditation Music) (0:24)

Silver closed the door and walked back to Vanilla.

"What's up?" he asked.

Vanilla smiled.

"Let's take a short walk around the block," she told him.

Silver complied. After a few seconds of walking in the midafternoon breeze, Vanilla asked him something.

"How are things going?"

"… Things are going well. We've managed to collect three Chaos Emeralds and-"

Vanilla shook her head.

"Not your mission, Silver," she chuckled, "I mean how are things going with Blaze?"

Silver slightly blushed and looked away.

"Things are… complicated," he admitted with reluctance, "Why do you ask?"

"Cream mentioned that you have feelings for Blaze."

" _I knew I couldn't trust her!"_

"Is this true?"

Silver sighed.

"Yeah."

"Hmm…" Vanilla smiled.

Silver turned and noticed.

"What?" he asked.

"Did anything _interesting_ happen recently with Blaze?"

Silver was starting to get suspicious.

"Uh, yeah… we helped a kid find his mother back on the mainland of Mobius and saved him from a bunch of robots."

"Anything else?"

Silver had a small drop of sweat appear on his temple **(yeah, this is gonna be a thing)**.

"N-no…" he lied, "Nothing worth mentioning."

Vanilla continued to smile as she shook her head.

"Silver…" she said in a tone that practically screamed 'I know you're lying'.

"I'm not lying! Honest!" he exclaimed as the drop of sweat grew bigger.

"… Okay, then. Come on, let's head back to Amy's."

Silver and Vanilla made their way back to Amy's place.

"Silver, I know you care for Blaze very much," Vanilla told him, "and, truth be told, it's not as big a secret as you may think."

Silver turned his head and gave Vanilla a look.

"Huh?"

They were now standing in front of Amy's place when Vanilla handed Silver a newspaper.

"Why are you giving me this?" he asked nervously.

"Read the front page," she told him.

Silver unfolded the newspaper and read the front lines.

" _Boy Reunited With Mother; Silver and Blaze Defend Mobotropolis!"_

Silver looked up at Vanilla with a raised brow.

"Look at the photos," she said with a smile.

Silver shook his head with annoyance as he looked at the three pictures printed on the front page. The first was one of him and Blaze fighting off the SWAT-bots. The second showed a picture of Jackson being carried away in his mother's arms. The third-

…

…

…

"No… way…" he said in horror as he flooded the street with his drop of sweat.

Vanilla giggled.

"Vanilla, no… wait! This-this isn't what it looks like!"

"Are you so sure?"

"I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-I-"

 **Silver_the_ has temporarily stopped responding. (No creepypasta here.)**

"Silver, it's alright. You don't have to hide your feelings or relationship anymore," Vanilla explained.

Silver's right hand managed to create a mind of its own and slapped Silver back into his senses. The big red blush on his face remained.

"Vanilla, listen… that kiss… it was just an accident," he explained as calmly as possible, "I was helping Blaze up to her feet and… she slipped and bumped into me. That's _all_ that happened."

Vanilla's gaze softened.

"Oh. So Blaze doesn't know about your feelings for her?"

Silver hung his head.

"No."

"I see…"

Silver looked up.

"Vanilla, please, don't tell Blaze. I can't… I don't want our friendship to be ruined. Please?"

Vanilla smiled and nodded.

"Very well, Silver. I promise not to tell her, or anyone else for that matter."

"Phew. Thanks, Vanilla."

 **(Music fades)**

"However… I can't exactly say the same about my daughter."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well…" Vanilla guiltily smiled, "she _was_ the one who showed me the article."

 ***WHAM***

"OH MY GOD, I WAS RIGHT!" Amy shouted as she slammed open her front door and accusingly pointed a finger at Silver.

Unfortunately, Silver never heard or saw her because he had already fainted and was now sprawled out on the ground. A giggling Cream walked through the remains of the door, followed by an incredibly embarrassed and red-faced Blaze, who had her face in her hands buried in her hands.

 **Me: Don't worry, Silver and Blaze gave me permission for this, as long as I… do** _ **something**_ **about it later… *cough cough* Maybe… *sigh* I am so dead…**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Babylon Rogues' Airship_

 **[ Ominous Suspense Music – Silent Shadows ]** (Uploaded by Halloween Music World)

Jet was sitting alone in his office, examining the upgrades Wave had made to his Type-J Extreme Gear. For Jet, there was no one better at modifying and upgrading Extreme Gear than her, though he has respected Tails' work as well. Wave and Storm were currently in their own quarters getting some rest after a long day of training. The hawk yawned as he adjusted himself in his seat to get more comfortable.

"Hm?"

Jet looked behind when he felt an ominous presence in his office.

"Oh, it's _you_ ," he growled, "What do you want!?"

Neo Metal Sonic remained in place.

"Has the hedgehog joined the race?" he asked.

"Yeah, he did," Jet announced, "Got him hooked when I told him a Chaos Emerald was at stake."

"Good," said Neo Metal Sonic, "Have you made your decision yet?"

Jet glared at the robot.

"No, I haven't," he replied, "And you said I had three days to decide."

"Plans have changed," the robot remarked, "You _will_ join us… and you _will_ give us the Chaos Emerald."

Neo Metal Sonic dashed forward and instantly appeared over Jet, looking down upon him.

"Make no mistake, Rogue," the robot threatened, "we will get our hands on that Emerald one way or another…"

"But-"

" _with_ … or _without you._ "

"Rrrggghhh…"

…

"Fine," Jet muttered.

"Very good," said the robot, "Now, there is… one detail you should know."

Neo Metal Sonic leaned in at an uncomfortable distance.

"I have ways of keeping subordinates in check," he said darkly, "We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt, would we?"

Jet moaned in anger.

"Keep your team in check as well, hawk," the robot remarked as he walked away behind Jet, "Would hate to see the Babylon Rogues' numbers diminish so soon."

Jet spun around in a heartbeat.

"What the heck are you-"

Neo Metal Sonic was already gone.

"Darn…"

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Sunset Heights_

It was late in the afternoon on South Island. People were either busy picking up their children from school, continuing construction, or still grumbling over their desk jobs. But it was just another peaceful day, excluding the ear-piercing shout from Amy a couple of hours earlier.

 ***BOOM***

And if you exclude that certain sonic boom that hadn't been heard in months on South Island. The moment he boomed through, everyone stopped dead in their tracks. Their hero and savior had returned.

 **[ It Doesn't Matter (Sonic's Theme) (Short No Vocals) – Sonic Adventure Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

The moment his feet hit the sandy beach, Sonic tossed his Extreme Gear in front of him and hopped on. With the air tank at full capacity, Sonic boosted up the ramp leading to towards the streets.

"Looks like the city repairs have been going well," he said as he glanced around.

As he continued his ride toward Amy's place, people on the streets would stop and stare at the blue blur as he drifted by.

"Was that…?"

"He's back?"

"Where's he been?"

"Has he really returned?"

Everyone was looking at each other, muttering comments or questioning what they saw. And Sonic knew this. Smirking to himself, he grinded along a guardrail as he turned a corner. As he boosted along the street, he noticed a sign that indicated road work ahead of him. Sure enough, there was; an area of the road was quarantined for construction workers to store all the supplies and materials they needed to rebuild the nearby structures. The bad news? Sonic wasn't going to slow down. The good news? There were some steel beams lying against a concrete tube, which Sonic can use as a makeshift ramp. **How convenient…** Before any of the workers even saw him coming, Sonic launched himself off the ramp and pulled off a couple of blue sky tricks in the air. **(Blue sky is the name of one of the air tricks in Sonic Riders. See where this is going?)** Bystanders watched in awe as the hedgehog sailed up and over the construction site…

 ***Instantly holds SS Ranking card above head* Nailed it! *Puts card away***

…before topping it off with twister and landing flawlessly.

 ***Slowly raises X Ranking card to chest height before putting it away***

Smirking to the nearby people, Sonic dashed away and disappeared around a corner.

 **(Music fades)**

 _Meanwhile, back at the drama center (Amy's House)…_

 **[ Accumula Town - Pokémon Black & White Music Extended ] **(Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Amy was having fun. Not only did she just learn that something _did_ happen between Silver and Blaze 15 minutes ago, the _something_ turned out to be a complete _make out session…_ _in public_!

"Amy, you-you've got it all wrong!" Silver exclaimed.

… at least, that's was she was still presuming had happened. Since Silver's mental breakdown, he and Amy both changed into their Extreme Gear attire. Now, Silver and Blaze were trying to convince her otherwise, with little to no effect; Amy just kept on smirking as she propped herself on her couch.

"We didn't intentionally mean for that to happen," Blaze explained calmly, but still blushing.

Amy just kept playfully glaring at the two.

"Look, I was helping Blaze up to her feet…" said Silver.

"…and my heel got caught on something, causing me to fall," Blaze continued.

"So, I caught her and…"

"Well…"

Silver and Blaze turned away from each other.

"You two kissed," Amy teased.

"NO!" they exclaimed together.

"Double negative~," Amy teased, "That means 'yes~'."

Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese were busy making sandwiches for everyone. Since it took Silver a few hours to fly from Soleanna all the way to South Island (and in record time, for someone who wasn't Sonic), the trio had to miss lunch. After Silver had partially recovered from the trauma, Vanilla and Cream asked if anyone was hungry. And from there… weeeeelllll… yeah.

 ***Knock knock knock***

"It's open!" Amy called out.

The front door opened and, yup, you guessed it, Shadow the Hedgehog- **Oops, sorry, wrong hedgehog…** _Sonic_ the Hedgehog entered, carrying the Blue Star under his arm.

"Hey, guys! Miss me?" he smirked.

Amy, Silver, and Blaze looked at one another in confusion.

"Sonic! Welcome back!" Cream shrieked as she rushed over and gave Sonic a hug.

"Heh, hey, Cream. Boy, you sure grew fast these past few months," Sonic remarked, making Cream giggle.

"Chao chao!"

"Good to see you too, Cheese," Sonic laughed.

"Hello, Sonic."

"Hey, Vanilla."

Sonic turned to the others.

"What's with those looks on your faces?" Sonic asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

The trio blinked a few times.

"Uh, Sonic?"

"Yeah, Amy?"

"Why… are you here?"

Sonic gave Amy a look.

"Uh, so we stay together?" he answered in question form.

"What!? We aren't breaking up! I meant-"

"Wait…" Blaze interrupted, "You and Sonic… are _dating_?"

The couple turned to her and nodded.

"When did this happen?" Blaze asked, "Last time I was here, he was holding you back from even hugging him."

Sonic rubbed the back of his neck with slight embarrassment.

"Uh, heh heh, yeah… funny story…" he said, "I… kinda sorta maybe had an epiphany a few months ago?"

Blaze raised a brow.

"Uh… we'll talk about it later," he chuckled.

Amy giggled.

"Alright, enough of that. But really, Sonic, why are you here and not off to Soleanna already?" she asked.

"Well, I was gonna, but then I remembered that we don't have the upgrades for our communicators yet from Tails. I figured that it would be best if I came here to make sure we all stuck together. You know, hacked comms…? Hmmm… probably should have had mine upgraded while I was there…"

"Huh… I didn't think about that," said Amy.

"So, did you guys grab your gear?" Sonic asked.

Amy jerked her thumb over towards the other side of the room; leaning against the wall were the Pink Rose and Psychic Wave Extreme Gears.

"Uh, what about Blaze?" Sonic asked them.

"I don't have any equipment," Blaze answered, "Silver suggested that I purchase them at Soleanna since plenty of Extreme Gear sellers will set up shop there for the EX World Grand Prix."

Amy glanced over at Silver and smirked.

"Oooohhh~, did he now?" she teased.

Silver looked away from everyone in embarrassment. Sonic was confused.

"Uh… did I miss something?" he asked.

Cream held up the article in front of Sonic's face. The silent, slack-jawed amazement was the perfect description of the hedgehog's expression. Silver and Blaze buried their faces in their hands.

"Woooow…" Sonic chuckled.

"Shut up," Silver muttered.

"Not one word, Sonic," Blaze warned.

Sonic shrugged and sat down next to Amy.

"Alright, fine," he said nonchalantly, "So this will be your first time using Extreme Gear then, Blaze?"

Blaze looked over at Sonic and nodded.

"Yes," she replied, slightly irritated.

"Are you sure you want to compete?" Sonic asked, "I mean, no offense, but-"

"Sonic," Amy whispered, "you should probably just keep your mouth shut before you _really_ get her mad."

…

"Yeah, that sounds good," Sonic replied.

At that moment, Vanilla and Cream walked into the living room with a couple of trays of sandwiches.

"Sweet!" Sonic exclaimed as he grabbed a roast beef one, "I'm starving!"

Amy grabbed a ham sandwich and took a bite.

"Mmm," she moaned, "This is _delicious_! Thanks for making these for us, Vanilla!"

"And you too, Cream," Blaze added as she grabbed a tuna sandwich.

Silver didn't respond. Blaze nudged him in the arm.

" _Silver_!" she whispered sternly.

The gray hedgehog shot his head up.

"Huh!? What? I didn't do it!"

Blaze gave him a look while everyone else just laughed.

"Silver," said Blaze, "Vanilla and Cream made us sandwiches."

"Huh? Oh, right!"

He turned to the rabbits.

"Thanks for the meal," Silver said to them as he grabbed a roast beef sandwich.

"Oh, it was nothing," Vanilla replied.

"So…" said Cream.

Amy looked over to her best friend.

"What's up, Cream?"

"When are you guys leaving?"

Amy bit her lower lip and gave Cream a sympathetic smile. As much as she wanted to stay and hang out and help with the rebuilding, she

"We were planning to leave any minute, actually," she explained, "We just needed to wait for someone to _recover_."

Everyone glanced over at Silver, who was too focused on his thoughts to notice.

"So naïve," Blaze muttered to herself.

Amy turned back to Cream.

"I know we just came back and that it sucks that we need to leave just as soon, but you could always join us," she told her rabbit friend.

Cream didn't seem so enthusiastic about the idea.

"I'm not that good at Extreme Gear riding," she admitted, "You remember the last time we raced, right?"

"Aw, don't be like that, Cream," said Amy, "We'd love for you to join us and give us a moral boost!"

"Well…" Sonic said, "I wouldn't say ' _love_ '."

Amy gave him a playful glare.

"But I have nothing against you joining us," he added quickly.

Everyone laughed at Sonic's dilemma.

"I appreciate the offer, Amy," said Cream, "but I think it would be best if I remained here. After all, someone needs to keep an eye on the reconstruction."

"No problem, Cream," said Amy, "Now that we've got that out of the way, how _is_ the rebuilding going?"

As the two girls discussed the repairs to their home, the gang finished their lunches. Sonic wasn't paying much attention to the talking, more curious as to why Silver and Blaze were still acting so awkward around each other. Although he had known both for quite a few years, there was something that he just couldn't explain. He _knew_ and _saw_ that Silver and Blaze had met at Sweet Mountain back on Eggman's Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park and had gotten a little closer during his 19th birthday party; yet he couldn't help but get the sense that they had more history than they had shared.

"Well, we should get going," said Amy, "It's almost 1:00, and the sooner we get back to Soleanna, the sooner we can hone our skills."

Sonic shook his head.

" _Wow, time sure does fly when you're not paying attention,"_ he thought to himself.

"Thanks again for the food, Vanilla," said Amy.

"It was no trouble at all," Vanilla replied, "Just keep Cream safe and sound."

"Will do," said Silver.

"Alright, then," said Sonic as he got up from the couch, "let's hit the road!"

Blaze noticed something potentially troublesome.

"Uh, Sonic?"

"Yeah?"

"How are we going to get past all _them_?"

Everyone looked to where Blaze was holding out her hand and noticed a large number of "former" Resistance members all staring through the window. Silver and Amy glared at Sonic.

"Uh… heh heh…" Sonic chuckled nervously, "I might have given some folks a show on my way here?"

Amy, Silver, and Blaze just facepalmed and shook their heads.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _*** October 21, 2020 ***_

 _Chun-nan_

The morning light poured into the village as the sun began rising in the distance. Rouge was blissfully sleeping until the light shined onto her face.

"Mmm…" she moaned with annoyance.

She turned her head in the opposite direction, so the light was no longer a bother. She wanted to continue resting on the warm, fuzzy, moving bed.

" _Wait… the bed's moving!?"_

Rouge's eyes shot open. She glanced down and noticed that she had slept _on top of Knuckles_.

…

…

…

 **[ Chun-Nan Day – Sonic Unleashed Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Blushing, Rouge quickly and silently got up and backed away, embarrassed.

" _Oh, my God… I can't believe I slept on top of him!"_

 **Oh, can't you?**

Last night, after a long trip, and an even more exhausting explanation from the Chaotix (and Rouge stitching up Espio's wound), Knuckles and Rouge were too tired to help the villagers and their friends clear the debris and help begin repairs. Zonshen was very understanding and allowed the two to sleep in one of the least damaged buildings. At first, they slept a couple of feet away from each other. How in the actual Hell she managed to get from point A to point B, we'll never know.

A sudden snicker from nearby caught Rouge's attention. While she and the echidna appeared to be… uh… embracing each other in their sleep… **no lemons here, folks…** Charmy and Ray thought it would be the perfect opportunity to get some blackmail on Rouge. Why? I dunno, Dumb and Dumber are up to something, you ask 'em.

" _Boys_ …" Vector said sternly, "I'm telling you… it's a _bad idea_."

Charmy looked over to him, Espio, and Mighty, who were all sitting at a table and eating breakfast, and smirked.

"Aw, come on! It's not like she's ever gonna find out!" he reasoned.

Ray looked over as well.

"Besides, we've had this camera forever; now's the perfect time to use it too!" Ray remarked.

Espio lightly scratched the bandage next to his eye and sighed.

"It is one thing poke a bull," he stated, "but it's an entirely different thing when you grab the bull by the horns."

 **What, thought I was gonna say 'balls'? Come on, let's not be cruel here.**

"You guys are no fun!" Charmy exclaimed before turning to Ray, "Now… which one should we keep?"

"How about… _NONE OF THEM_ ," said a voice behind the two Mobians.

The jokers gulped and slowly turned around to see a very irritated white bat.

"Uh… hey, good morning, Rouge," Charmy said nervously, "Wha… what's up?"

The death glare Rouge gave them was a clear enough message.

"We weren't actually gonna keep the photos," Ray said as he took the camera and deleted the photos, "See? No photos."

Rouge swiped the camera away as she made sure herself that the photos were deleted. Now, let's be honest here; Rouge is a government agent and a thief, she's not stupid. So when she noticed that the memory card was missing…

"Where's the memory card?" she asked in a threatening tone.

But when she looked up, Charmy and Ray were already flying away in fear.

 _15 seconds later…_

Knuckles woke up from the sound of terrified screams nearby.

"Ugghhh…" he sighed, "Only Charmy could possibly make Rouge this mad in the morning."

The echidna got up and stretched.

"Well, time to help clean some of this mess."

Knuckles walked outside and noticed Rouge flying after Charmy and Ray; she had a vendetta as he made his way towards the others.

"Uh," he muttered, pointing in the sky, "do I wanna-"

"Nope," they replied at the same time.

Knuckles nodded and sat down with them.

"So, Vector," Knuckles began, "you said you had some fragments for me?"

Vector finished chewing the food in his mouth before handing said fragments to the guardian.

"They look like Master Emerald fragments," said Espio, "but some look different than the others."

"Hmm…"

Knuckles examined each fragment carefully. The one that was more green than blue like the others caught his attention the most.

"That one was from the, uh… what did you call them? 'SWAT-bots'?" Vector asked.

Knuckles nodded.

"Yeah, well, the green robots had the fragments inside 'em, but that fragment your looking at now was found inside the leader of the bunch," Vector explained, "What are you thinking, Knuckles?"

The echidna put the fragment he was currently looking at in his inventory, leaving the other four on the table.

"These are fake," he muttered in frustration.

The other three sighed.

"I thought they looked bizarre," said Mighty.

"How many fragments have you collected so far, Knuckles?" Espio asked him.

"Seven."

"Wow," Vector remarked, "this is going much slower than before."

"Thanks for reminding me," Knuckles replied, rolling his eyes.

 ***Beep beep***

Knuckles answered his communicator.

"Knuckles," he answered.

" _ **Knuckles, it's me and Tails."**_

Sonic and Tails' faces appeared on the video feed.

"Hey, Sonic."

" _ **We've got word that another Chaos Emerald's been found!"**_ Sonic exclaimed.

Knuckles was not as ecstatic.

"Uh, okay? What does this have to do with the Master Emerald?" he asked.

Sonic deadpanned.

" _ **Uh, Knuckles? Aren't you a bit concerned about the safety of the world?"**_ Tails asked.

Knuckles sighed.

"Have you forgotten that the Master Emerald can control the power of the Chaos Emeralds?" he asked, "If I can restore the Master Emerald, then even if the enemy has all the Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald can neutralize the Emeralds and prevent the enemy from using them for world domination."

Now Tails was deadpanning.

" _ **Knuckles, you do realize we have three of the seven Chaos Emeralds already, right?"**_ Tails pointed out, _**"What if we need to use the Chaos Emeralds to save the world?"**_

"Better find them all first, I guess," Knuckles shrugged.

" _ **Oh, like we weren't trying to do THAT already,"**_ Sonic remarked sarcastically.

"NO, MY MEMORY CARD!"

Knuckles, Vector, Espio, and Mighty over and saw Rouge's boot heel twisting against something metallic on the ground, turning it into dust.

"Aw…" Charmy and Ray moped.

"Don't even think about trying to pull something like that again," Rouge threatened them as she walked over to the others.

"We warned 'em," Vector told her.

Rouge rolled her eyes as she took a seat next to Knuckles.

"Morning, Sonic. Tails," Rouge told them when she saw the video feed.

" _ **Evening, Rouge,"**_ said Tails.

" _ **Mornin',"**_ said Sonic.

Knuckles and Rouge both raised a brow when they looked at Sonic.

"Sonic, where are you?" Knuckles asked, "It looks pitch black where you are."

"And why do you have the Blue Star with you?" Rouge asked.

Knuckles suddenly noticed this too.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" he shouted, "I THOUGHT YOU WERE SEARCHING FOR EMERALDS, NOT FOOL AROUND!"

Sonic laughed.

" _ **That's what I was gonna tell you, Knucklehead! There's a Chaos Emerald up for grabs in the upcoming EX World Grand Prix."**_

"The Grand Prix?" Rouge asked in surprise, "I thought it wasn't until this coming spring, isn't it?"

Sonic shook his head.

" _ **This one was just announced days ago. Me, Amy, Silver, and Blaze were traveling, and we happened to come across the Babylon Rogues."**_

Knuckles groaned.

"Those thieving birds?"

" _ **Yeah, Knuckles, those guys. Told me that an Emerald was the grand prize, so we decided to join."**_

"What if it's just a waste of time?" Knuckles asked.

Rouge glanced over at the Chaotix, including Charmy and Ray, and noticed that they were unusually quiet.

" _ **Eh,"**_ Sonic shrugged, _**"At least it'll be a blast."**_

Rouge turned back to the conversation with Sonic.

"You know, _we_ could also join the Grand Prix and help, Sonic," she suggested.

Knuckles turned to the bat.

"What do you mean ' _we_ '?" he asked.

"As in you and me, Knucklehead," she teased, causing Knuckles to slightly blush and get irritated.

"What!? Race in _another_ EX World Grand Prix!? With the world at stake!?"

"Why not?"

"But-"

" _ **Hey, that sounds like a great idea, Rouge!"**_ Tails interrupted, _**"I'm stuck here in my workshop for a while until Omega is completely repaired, so I can't join. But you and Knuckles can! You both did well the last Grand Prix."**_

 ***Insert the horrors of playing Sonic Free Riders here***

" _ **Sounds like a plan to me,"**_ said Sonic, _**"The more of us in the race, the better our odds are of getting that Emerald in our hands."**_

Sonic frowned.

" _ **Besides, I doubt the Lord will just kick back and watch us gain another Emerald. Every time an Emerald has popped up, there's been trouble."**_

Knuckles sighed.

"Also," Rouge added, "it might make you feel a _lot_ better beating up some robots along the way."

Knuckles gave her a look.

" _ **Come on, Knuckles,"**_ Sonic playfully teased, _**"What would Storm say to the cameras if you don't show up?"**_

"Where is it taking place?" Knuckles asked immediately.

" _So easy,"_ Sonic, Tails, and Rouge thought to themselves.

" _ **Soleanna,"**_ Sonic answered.

Suddenly, by some unexplainable cosmic phenomena, Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Rouge all felt a sudden sense of déjà vu.

"Soleanna…" Rouge said with a pondering tone, "Isn't that some kingdom in the lands far east of Spagonia?"

" _ **Yeah, which also explains why it's dark here. It's only about three in the morning."**_

"… Why are you up?" Knuckles asked.

" _ **I was just getting ready. Gotta sharpen my skills, y'know? Everyone else is sleeping."**_

"Wait, _when's the Grand Prix_?" Knuckles asked.

" _ **Two days."**_

Knuckles fell out of his seat before scrabbling back.

"T-two days!?"

" _ **I know! Isn't it great!"**_

"Sonic, I don't have my gear! How am I-"

" _ **Way ahead of you, Knuckles."**_

"What are you talking abou-"

Sonic facepalmed.

" _ **Just get to Soleanna. Trust me, we've got everything ready."**_

"You had no problem leaving the Master Emerald unattended the last couple of Grand Prixes," Rouge noted.

Knuckles sighed again. He knew it was pointless to argue anymore.

"Okay… _fine._ We'll be there in a few hours."

" _ **Alright! This party is-"**_

"But if turns out to be a huge waste of _my_ time, Sonic…" Knuckles said threateningly as he moved closer to the camera, "I'm gonna give you a reason to run."

Sonic just laughed at his friend's threat.

" _ **You worry too much, Knucklehead!"**_ he said before ending the call.

" _ **Well, looks like you guys have things under control,"**_ said Tails, _**"Good luck out there!"**_

Tails and Knuckles ended the call. Rouge turned her attention to the silent Chaotix members.

"Something up?" she asked.

Vector sighed and nodded.

"There's something we wanted to discuss with you."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Blue Moon Village_

 **[ Gothic Music – Ravenville ]** (Uploaded by Derek and Brandon Flechter) (Loop)

Siris took a deep breath of fresh morning air.

"Home," he sighed, looking at the village that was only a mile down the road.

Holding the large box of medicine firmly in his hands, Siris dashed for Blue Moon Village.

"I wonder if Sylvie's had breakfast yet," Siris wondered out loud.

Like in his younger days, Siris was still not as fast as Sonic or Shadow… at least, without help. But his speed was still incredible, as he was able to reach Nephy's front door in about 30 seconds.

 ***Knock knock***

"Who's there~?!" Nephy called out playfully.

"It's me, Nephy," Siris replied, rolling his eyes.

The door opened, showing Nephy standing behind it.

"Hey, Siris~."

"Hey."

Siris noticed Sylvie was nowhere in sight.

"Where's Sylvie?"

Nephy smirked.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know."

"Very funny, Nephy. Sylvie!?" Siris called out.

Down the hall, Sylvie exited the guest room, wearing her blue dress. She rushed over to the door the moment she saw Siris.

"Welcome back, Siris," she said.

"Thanks, Sylvie."

" _Is she actually happy to see me?"_

Sylvie looked at the box in Siris' hands.

"What's in the box?" she asked.

"Oh, this?" Siris asked before clearing his throat, "Just some medical supplies for the clinic."

Sylvie had a hint of interest in her eyes.

"Anyways," Siris continued, "are you ready to head back home?"

Sylvie looked back at Siris and nodded.

"Excellent… wait, I thought you had your red dress on when I dropped you off here…"

Sylvie blushed as Siris turned to Nephy.

"Have something to tell me?" he asked the smirking hedgehog.

Nephy was the only person, besides Siris, who had a key to his house. About two months ago, Nephy's apartment building had a minor fire in one of her neighbor's place. Knowing Siris was too kind to refuse, he allowed her to stay at his place for a couple of days while the damage was rectified. Siris allowed her to keep the spare key, as a show of their friendship. Now he was starting to regret it a little.

"Well…" Nephy began, "Sylvie felt a little uncomfortable wearing the sleeveless dress, since it was showing some of her scars."

" _Wait, 'some'?"_ Siris thought.

"So, I figured I would take her back home and let her grab her other dress."

Siris raised a brow.

"Is that all?" he asked.

Nephy smirked.

"Well… we did bathe toge-"

"Nope!" Siris said loudly, "Uh-uh! Shut up! Don't wanna hear it!"

Sylvie looked at Nephy with confusion.

"What? We didn't bathe together," Sylvie remarked.

Nephy turned and gave Sylvie a dramatic look of betrayal.

"Sylvie~," Nephy playfully whined, "you weren't supposed to tell him~."

Siris shook his head and chuckled.

"Alright, that's enough, Nephy," he told her.

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"You ready to go home now?" he asked.

Sylvie nodded.

"Alright. Where's your other dress?" he asked.

"I… left it at home."

"Okay… And your nightgown?"

"… Oh. Um… one moment, please."

Sylvie went back into the guest room and returned a moment later with her folded nightgown in hand. As she returned, Siris noticed that Sylvie was now back to her expressionless self.

" _Hmm… maybe she's hungry?"_ he thought to himself.

"Did you eat breakfast yet?"

"No…"

Siris patted her on the head.

"That's alright, Sylvie."

"Eh?"

"Why don't we head over to the café with Nephy and I'll buy you a chocolate chip muffin and you can eat it when we get home," he suggested.

Sylvie blinked a couple of times.

"If… that is your wish, Siris," she replied timidly.

Siris looked at her with soft hinted sadness in his eyes.

"Sylvie?" he asked.

"I'm okay, Master," Sylvie muttered with no emotion.

Siris felt his heart beginning to sink. Before he could say another word, Nephy pushed pass the two and pulled Sylvie outside.

"Come on, you two," she smirked, "If we're gonna get to the café, we might as well _not_ make me late, huh?"

Nephy looked the door behind her and grabbed Siris' and Sylvie's hand, dragging them with her.

A couple of minutes later, after Siris and Sylvie had freed their hands and convinced Nephy to walk at their pace, Siris finally asked the question he was dreading to hear the answer for.

"How much did you and Aurelia tease Sylvie since I left her with you?"

Nephy turned to Siris and smirked.

"Wouldn't you like to know~?"

Siris sighed as he unconsciously patted Sylvie on the head again.

" _Why is Master always so kind to me?"_ she wondered, _"Is he really hiding a dark secret from me?"_

Sylvie began to feel anxious; the world was tuned out.

" _After everything he's told me so far… Is there something worse than what he has said to me?"_

"Anyways, Nephy," said Siris, "besides teasing my friend, what's been going on?"

Nephy thought for a second.

"Well, word is there's an EX World Grand Prix happening in a couple of days."

Siris looked at her with a puzzled look.

"A couple of days? I thought it was happening spring of next year, isn't it?"

Nephy shrugged.

"Apparently some duke from… hmm… what was the place again?"

She looked over to Siris.

"What's the kingdom far east of Spagonia?" she asked.

Siris was now slightly alarmed.

"Uh, Soleanna?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah! That's the one!"

 **(Music fades)**

" _Crap."_

 **[ Suspense – Slow Instrumental Background Music ]** (Uploaded by Audio4rt Maker) (1:00)

 **(Music fades in)**

"Yeah, word is the Duke of Soleanna was given a wonderous gift from one of his people; a Chaos Emerald."

" _This is not good."_

"He said that he was flattered but felt that something so powerful could attract unnecessary danger to his people. So he decided to hold a tournament to see who would be worthy of possessing the jewel," Nephy explained dramatically.

Siris stopped patting Sylvie's head.

"When was this announced?" he asked.

"About three or four days ago."

" _He_ came up with having a Grand Prix?"

Sylvie tapped her chin.

"I'm not sure. Maybe one of his advisors suggested it?" she shrugged, "But I did hear that Sonic and some of his friends are competing in it. And the Babylon Rogues too!"

" _Please, God… Chaos… please tell me no one else has memories of Solaris."_

"That… sounds awesome," Siris replied with feigned excitement.

"I know, right~?" Nephy asked, "I can't wait to watch the races!"

Siris shook his head to clear his mind and turned to Nephy.

 **(Music fades)**

"Yeah, right, Nephy. You just want all those extra tips from all the customers who will pile into the café to watch the event on the screens."

She gave Siris a playful smile.

"Hey, I'm damn good at my job and you know it!" she exclaimed.

Siris rolled his eyes as he opened and held the door open to the café.

"Oh, wow, I didn't even realize we made it," Nephy remarked as she entered.

Siris rolled his eyes and waited for Sylvie to enter before closing the door behind them. They walked up to the counter and Siris looked over to Sylvie; she was still distracted by her thoughts.

"Sylvie?"

The silver hedgehog shook her head and looked over to Siris. His hand was no longer patting her.

"Would you like a muffin for breakfast?" Siris asked her.

"Eh?"

Sylvie looked around and realized that they were inside the café.

"Eh… I guess."

Siris gave her a concerned look before turning to Nephy, who was now behind the counter.

"We'll take a muffin to go."

"Alright, gimme a sec," Nephy told him as she went over to grab a muffin.

She placed the muffin in a small paper bag and handed it to Siris as he paid for the treat.

"Thank you very much for your purchase!" Nephy chimed as Siris and Sylvie left the café.

As soon as they were outside and on their way home, Siris called Tails.

 **[ Instrumental Music For Studying, Concentration And Focus Memory – Thinking Music Inspire Creativity ]** (Uploaded by Meditation and Relaxing Music)

" _ **Tails, speaking."**_

"Hey, it's Siris. Is it safe to talk?"

" _ **Normally the question would be 'Is this a good time to talk?'"**_ Tails pointed out.

Siris sighed.

"Tails…"

" _ **I'm just messin' with ya. Yeah, it's safe. What's up?"**_

"What's this I hear about a Chaos Emerald in Soleanna and a recently announced EX World Grand Prix?"

" _ **Oh, you heard!? Yeah, Sonic-"**_

"Yeah, yeah, he and some of the others are competing, I heard."

Tails moaned at Siris' rudeness.

" _ **Okay, jeez. Sorry for confirming what you heard."**_

"… Sorry, Tails. Didn't mean to be so harsh. Mind connecting me to Sonic?"

" _ **Sure. I'll call him now."**_

…

" _ **Hey, Tails. Something else you wanted to say?"**_ Sonic answered.

" _ **Siris wants to talk to you."**_

" _ **Oh, hey, Siris. What's up?"**_

"Is it true? Is there another Emerald in Soleanna?"

" _ **Yup,"**_ Sonic replied, _**"Pretty sweet deal; an Extreme Gear tournament AND a Chaos Emerald."**_

Siris nervously chuckled.

"Listen, Sonic… you haven't heard anything suspicious about the Grand Prix, have you?"

" _ **Mmm… nope. Why? Is something wrong?"**_

" _I hope not,"_ Siris thought to himself.

"No, just… seems strange to me, that's all."

" _ **How so?"**_

"I'm not sure," said Siris, "It just seems… off."

Neither Sonic or Tails replied.

"I mean, think about it for a second; the Grand Prix isn't supposed to happen until next year, a Chaos Emerald appears _after_ you rubbed your bracelet; again, mind you; and just a couple of days ago the Duke of Soleanna wants to hold a race to see who wins said Chaos Emerald? Sounds a bit… strange and too convenient if you ask me."

" _ **Welcome to our adventures, Siris,"**_ Sonic quipped.

Siris wasn't sure how to respond to that remark.

"Tails, is he serious?"

" _ **Yup."**_

"Un-friggin'-believable."

" _ **Siris… are you alright?"**_ Sonic asked, _**"You sound a bit nervous."**_

"I'm fine. I guess I'm just a bit jumpy about everyone's safety is all."

" _ **Alright, if you say so,"**_ said Sonic.

"Yeah, heh heh… Anyways, uh, good luck in the Grand Prix, Sonic. Tell the others good luck as well. I'll be watching and cheering you guys on."

" _ **Thanks, Siris. And hey, don't worry; we've gone through worse,"**_ said Tails.

Siris deadpanned, even though it was only voice communication.

"Thanks for jinxing it, Tails."

By this point, Siris and Sylvie have made it back home. Siris unlocked the front door and entered; Sylvie followed close behind. He held the bag out to her as he turned away from his communicator.

"Here, Sylvie. You can eat first before you get ready," he said quietly.

Sylvie gave a small smile before taking the bag.

"Thank you very much," she said.

Siris nodded and turned back to his communicator.

"Anyways, good luck with the races, Sonic."

" _ **Hey, no worries!"**_ he exclaimed, _**"I'm the fastest thing alive, remember?"**_

Siris rolled his eyes as Sonic hung up.

"Since I have you on call, Tails, how's Omega doing?"

" _ **It's a work in progress. He's still in standby mode and some of the materials I need won't be in for another couple of days."**_

"Wonderful," Siris muttered, "Well, you know what to do. Hopefully you'll finisher sooner than we hoped."

" _ **Yeah. *Ring* Gotta go; that might be the suppliers."**_

"Okay. See ya, Tails."

Siris hung up and sighed. He walked over to the table where Sylvie was eating the muffin.

"Careful not to eat the paper, Sylvie," Siris teased as he sat down across from her.

Sylvie looked away in embarrassment.

"Hey, I'm just messin' with ya," he said as he reached over and ruffled her fur, "How's the muffin?"

"It's so sweet," Sylvie replied.

Siris smiled.

"I'm glad you like it."

He brought his communicator back up and called Shadow.

…

No reply; Siris was worried.

Sylvie looked into Siris' eyes.

"Master…"

" _I hate that damn title."_

"… are you worried about them remembering about Solaris?" Sylvie asked with worry in her eyes.

Siris sighed and nodded.

"More than you know, Sylvie," he replied, "More than you know."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Outskirts of Soleanna, Forest_

 **[ 1 Hour of Forest Music & Fantasy Music ] **(Uploaded by Derek & Brandon Flechter) (4:03)

Late morning, within the forest near Soleanna, two Mobians were practicing their racing skills against each other. They hopped off their boards and began to talk, when two of their friends appeared.

"Well, good morning, love-"

Blaze's death glare shut Amy up instantly.

"Uh, I mean, good morning, guys?" she asked nervously.

"Yeah, thanks, Amy," Silver muttered as he carried the Psychic Wave under his arm.

Blaze said nothing as she and Silver walked over to Sonic and Amy, who were discussing Amy's recent performance on her Extreme Gear. Sonic looked over his shoulder to see the approaching Mobians.

"Hey, guys," he said, "You two sure took a long nap."

Silver and Blaze groaned.

"Hey, don't take it out on me!" Sonic exclaimed, "It's past 10!"

"Yeah, fine, whatever," Silver remarked as he and Blaze walked past them.

By now, you'd probably have guessed why these two are in a bad mood. In all fairness, Sonic didn't say a word about the incident since he found out about it.

"Hey, where are you guys going?" Amy asked.

The pair stopped walking and looked back.

"Silver's taking me to the castle town of Soleanna so I can get my equipment," Blaze explained.

Amy was about to make a remark when Blaze glared at her.

"It's _not_ a date, Amy," she said, irritated; even though she and Silver both wished it was going to be one.

 **Me: *Shakes head***

Amy just smirked as she held her hands up in defense.

"What's not a date?" said a feminine voice.

The four Mobians turned and saw Knuckles and Rouge emerging from the thicket.

"Knuckles! Rouge!" Amy exclaimed, "You both made it!"

Knuckles rolled his eyes.

"Good to see you too, Knuckles," Sonic smirked.

Silver and Blaze were surprised.

"Hey, Knuckles," said Silver, "Long time, huh?"

The echidna turned to the hedgehog and smirked.

"Yup. Nice to see you," he said before turning to Blaze, "You too, Blaze."

"A pleasure to see you again, Knuckles," she replied.

Silver's ears perked up.

"Oh, Knuckles, here! We brought these with us!" he exclaimed as he levitated off the ground and flew over to where he and Blaze were sleeping.

A moment later, he returned with a red board and some EX gear.

"My stuff," Knuckles said in awe before turning to Sonic, "You planned this all along, didn't you?"

Sonic shrugged.

"Hey, Amy was the one who keeps all our Extreme Gears."

Amy cleared her throat.

"Uh, besides mine," Sonic quickly added nervously when he saw her glare.

Silver relinquished control of the echidna's equipment and gently placed them in front of him. Knuckles picked up the Red Rock and examined it.

"It's not damaged, Knucklehead!" Sonic joked.

"Yeah, whatever! I'm just making sure!" Knuckles replied back as he swapped his shoes and gloves.

 **Gotta admit, the Sonic Riders gloves are so damn good looking with all that detail.**

"What about you, Rouge?" Amy asked, "Did you bring your stuff?"

Rouge glanced over to Amy and smirked as she pointed up towards the sky. Everyone looked up and saw a jet fly by.

"Uh… do you need to go to the airport or something?" Sonic asked.

"Just wait for it," Rouge said cryptically.

Everyone looked back up. A moment later, something appeared in the sky; it looked like some kind of metal box. And it was falling fast. Suddenly, a parachute was deployed, and the box slowly descended to the ground.

 ***Gong***

Knuckles turned to Rouge and raised a brow as he put his goggles around his neck.

"You had G.U.N. send you your Extreme Gear, didn't you?" he asked.

Everyone's eyes followed Rouge as she walked over to the metal crate and opened it.

"Does this answer your question?" she asked Knuckles as she pulled out the Temptation.

 **(Music fades into next one)**

 **[ Shut Up Faker! [Sonic vs. Shadow] – Sonic Adventure 2 Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

A sarcastic laugh echoed throughout the vicinity.

"Ugghh," Sonic groaned, "Jet."

The whooshing of the wind behind the group turned their attention to the hawk hovering on his Extreme Gear.

"Well, isn't this a nice surprise?" Jet asked sarcastically, "Knuckles and Rouge have decided to join the fun."

Behind him, Wave and Storm appeared, on their boards as well.

"Storm," Knuckles growled, holding up a fist.

The albatross turned his attention to his archrival.

"Looks like I'll enjoying this race after all," Storm remarked, "How's your precious rock, _guardian_?"

Knuckles made a move.

"Why you…"

"Easy, big guy," said Rouge as she grabbed his shoulder.

Wave looked around with curiosity.

"Where's that little fox boy?" she asked, mockingly, "Is he too afraid to show himself and see my superior tinkering skills?"

Sonic and Amy glared at her.

"Hey, that's my best friend you're talking about!" Sonic remarked.

"Yeah! And Tails is a much better mechanic than you!" Amy added, "Not to mention much cooler."

Wave laughed at their remarks. Storm turned to Blaze.

"Ha!" he laughed.

"What's so funny!?" Silver asked with a hint of anger.

"Her!" Storm answered, pointing a finger at Blaze, "Is she serious right now?"

Silver and Blaze gave Storm a confused look.

"What is he talking about, Silver?" Blaze asked.

He just shrugged.

"Your clothes," Storm clarified, "You can't race with those on."

"Huh?"

"I mean, you could, but it's not as aero… aero… aero…?"

Wave sighed.

"The word is 'aerodynamic', Storm."

"Uh, right! What she said!"

Silver and Blaze rolled their eyes.

"Come on, Blaze," said Silver, "Let's get out of here and get your equipment and Extreme Gear."

The moment Silver said that, he instantly regretted it; Storm laughed.

"Wait, you're telling me she doesn't even have an Extreme Gear!? Does she even know how to ride one!"

Blaze felt a wave of anger flow through her. Silver put a hand on her shoulder, making her a bit calmer.

"Just ignore him," Silver whispered.

Blaze nodded.

" _Storm…_ " Jet warned him, "Remember what happened yesterday?"

Storm gulped.

"S-sorry, boss!"

"Why is nothing ever so simple and easy," Jet sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"Why are you guys even here?" Sonic asked.

Jet turned his attention back to his rival.

"Oh, we were just passing through, hedgehog," said Jet, "We were expecting to run into you and your friends, obviously _training very hard_. At this rate, we'll have that Chaos Emerald in no time."

That remark earned him a glare from all the heroes.

"Well, I think we've wasted enough of our time with these slowpokes. Good luck trying to get that Emerald. Or even getting past the qualifiers!" Jet mocked as he and his fellow Rogues rode off.

No one said a word until they were gone.

 **(Music fades)**

"Well, that was rather pleasant," Rouge remarked.

"Indeed," said Blaze.

"Who do those guys think they are?" asked Knuckles.

"Yeah," said Amy, "And why the sudden hostility? They were acting somewhat decent before."

"Ah, forget it," said Sonic, "I'm sure this is just their way of getting under our skin; get us off our game so the race will be in their favor, like they always do."

Everyone agreed. Silver turned back to Blaze.

"Ready to get your Extreme Gear?"

"Of course, Silver."

She looked up at the sky.

"We best make haste before it gets too late," said Blaze.

Silver gave her a look.

"Uh, okay?" he said with uncertainty, "Why are you talking like that?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry, Silver. Force of habit."

Amy mischievously smirked at the two.

"What's with that look?" Rouge asked her as she approached.

The pink hedgehog turned to Rouge and pulled out a certain newspaper clipping involving Silver and Blaze. Within a second, Rouge had a smirk on her face as well.

"Looks like I won the bet," she said.

Suddenly, the clipping caught on fire and Amy had to drop it to the ground.

"AMY!" Blaze screamed.

To prevent Armageddon from happening **(again)** , Silver levitated Blaze from the ground with his psychokinesis and took her with him to get her gear. Knuckles walked over to Amy and Rouge.

"What was _that_ all about?"

Rouge, who used her sleight of hand to palm her Treasure Scope from her inventory, discretely, and take a photo of the article before it was disintegrated, activated her communicator and showed Knuckles the photo. His jaw dropped.

"Seriously!? I _lost_ the bet!?"

"Glad to see I wasn't the only one to lose a bet recently," Sonic smirked.

For some bizarre reason, a few large rocks fell from the sky and landed around the group. Was this a sign from the powers beyond?

…

Well, sorta, if you call Silver's abilities as a sign.

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Soleanna Castle Town_

 **[ Soleanna Castle Town – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X) **(At least Sonic games are consistent with good OSTs… now about those unreleased tracks…)**

"Wow," Silver sighed, "There sure are a lot of people here."

Blaze just smiled and shook her head.

"So naïve," she murmured.

Silver snapped his head towards her.

"What?"

"Nothing," she replied.

 **Silver: Uh, Phantom?**

 **Me: *Deadpan* What?**

 **Silver: Uh, could I write this part?**

 **Me: … Why?**

 **Silver: Just… reasons.**

 **Me: *rolls eyes* Fine.**

The town was filled with Extreme Gear riders, fans, shops, and show casings; there were even some people having impromptu races for fun. Silver wasn't used to large crowds like these. Sure, he's seen plenty like them on TV, but to actually be surrounded in one was a whole other world to him.

Since his decision to stay in the present; or the past, to his reference; even being in smaller crowded places, like cafes, restaurants, and grocery stores, made him feel a little overwhelmed; seeing so many people in one place. Yet… he seemed pretty calm back in Mobotropolis. Wonder why that was.

"So, Silver," said Blaze, "any idea where we should go to acquire the necessary equipment?"

"Uh…"

Silver chuckled nervously.

"Not gonna lie, I'm not entirely sure."

Blaze raised a brow.

"Did you really bring me here without a well thought out plan?" she asked.

"… Maybe?" Silver admitted with a guilty smile.

"So naïve," Blaze sighed.

" _Jeez, how stupid can I possibly get!?"_ Silver thought to himself.

" _It's sweet that he's trying to help me, but must he always not have a plan?"_ Blaze wondered.

"Give me a minute, Blaze," Silver told her.

She watched as Silver flew into the air and looked around the area. Her eyes remained on him as he flew around to a few nearby stores; he remained high enough so she could see him. After watching him buzz around the place for a minute, Silver returned to her side.

"I think I've found a place. Follow me."

Blaze gave Silver an "are you sure?" look.

"I'm _positive_ , Blaze."

"… Very well, Silver," she sighed, "Lead on."

Silver led Blaze through the crowd, towards one of the shop setups nearby.

" _Why is she speaking so formal now? She hadn't done that in a long time."_

The two stopped in front of the store. Blaze peaked through a window, but there were some people blocking her view.

"Let's check it out," said Silver.

Blaze turned to him and nodded. Silver opened the entrance door and held it open for Blaze. He followed her in, making sure he didn't bump the Psychic Wave against the doorframe, and looked around.

"Cool," he said.

The store was filled with rows of different attires for Extreme Gear riders; the walls displayed Extreme Gears of different varieties, including boards, skates, and yacht types. Silver and Blaze were quick to notice that there was nothing that supported or sponsored any individual or team, unlike all the other venders they noticed in town. Their browsing was rudely interrupted when a customer began yelling.

"8,000 RINGS!? FOR THIS PIECE OF CRAP!?"

Silver and Blaze turned around and saw a tall, blond, athletically-built white man wearing a red and black plaid shirt and jeans yelling at a poor dark purple colored wolf wearing a black apron dress. She was taken aback by the sudden outburst. **No, it's not the businessman from Sonic Unleashed; that guy is caring.**

 **(Music fades)**

"I'm… I'm sorry, sir, but that is the price. And it's not junk, it's one of the latest-"

 **[ Deus Ex – 004 – Liberty Island - Ambient ]** (Uploaded by Ragitsu) (Loop)

"' _LASTEST'_!? Ha! Like Hell it is! More like something a kid 40 years ago could build blindfolded!"

Silver and Blaze gave each other a brief glance, wondering what was going on.

"Sir, please, you are making a scene…"

"Oh, I'll make a _scene_ , alright! I'll tell everyone that _you_ like to sell cheap knockoffs of Extreme Gears just so you can make a quick profit!"

The wolf was nearly in tears.

"What!? I-I would _never_ …"

"Save it! You Mobians are all the same! All you do is come, _unwanted_ , from whatever Hellhole you all come from and cause nothing but problems!"

The poor girl was practically shaking now.

"Wha… What are you talking about?" she asked, petrified, "I never did anything wrong!"

"Oh, _suuuure_. Every time a problem shows up, it's always had Mobians involved! That Chaos thing in Station Square, that black hedgehog trying to destroy the world? How about every time Eggman tries to dominate the world, it always involves that Sonic guy? Ever think that _maybe,_ just _maybe, he's_ in on it?"

 **Me: Holy crap, Silver, did you just put a racist version of J. Jonah Jameson in my story? Also, I don't own Marvel.**

 **Sonic: Why does this story sound familiar?**

 **Silver: … Can I continue?**

 **Me and Sonic: Yes.**

Silver turned back to Blaze.

"Is this guy for real!?" he asked her.

Blaze shook her head in disgust as she glared at the man.

"That… Those things were all misunderstandings!" the wolf tried to explain, "And Sonic is a hero! He's saved our lives more times than we can count!"

"Right, and we should just let him do whatever he wants? Without any permission from the authorities? And what about that two-tailed freak? Or that echidna? Or that hedgehog with psychic powers!? Or that weird cat with the fire powers? That one scares me the most."

Silver's eyes widened as he turned to Blaze; instead of anger, he saw shock on her face.

"She has the ability to throw fireballs; but why don't people see that she's a freakin' fire hazard? She's literally a walking, living flamethrower; she could easily set the whole world on fire!"

Silver watched as tears began to form in Blaze's eyes. He hadn't told anyone, especially Blaze, but he remembered the time when she confided to him that she used to be picked on by bullies for her pyrokinetic abilities. Before Solaris was defeated, of course; but he had made a promise to himself that he would always have her back and to never have _anyone_ insult her abilities again. Silver was just about to give the racist a piece of his mind when someone else beat him to it.

"My, my," said a feminine voice, "What seems to be the problem?"

Everyone in the store turned to the pumpkin color eyed blonde, who was wearing dark colored clothes and a huge bycoket, approaching the man and wolf.

"Oh, Aurelia," the wolf said nervously, "Sorry, I was just-"

Aurelia held up a hand to silence the girl.

"Calm down, Star," she told the wolf, "I will handle this."

"Uh, are you sure?"

Aurelia gave her a large grin. Star nodded and let Aurelia handle the man. The blonde turned her attention to the rude individual in front of her.

"What seems to be the problem?" she asked again.

"Problem? I'll tell you what the problem is!" he said loudly before pointing at Star, "This freak tried to sell me a dangerous and faulty Extreme Gear just so she could steal my rings!"

Aurelia glanced over at the board in question and at Star.

"I don't see anything wrong with the gear," Aurelia said calmly, "What makes you say that it is faulty?"

"Well, take a closer look!" he exclaimed, "The fins are completely uneven on the sides; one is larger and thicker than the other one; the front of the board bends down towards to ground, and the air tank is cracked."

Aurelia took a closer look at the board for a brief moment before turning back to the man.

"I don't know where you come up with such _blatant lies_ ," Aurelia said calmly, "but if you don't find the items on sale here satisfactory, I'm sure there are other stores that would be more of your taste."

She gave the man an eerie smirk.

"Perhaps a compost site is more to your liking?" she suggested with no hint of pleasure.

Everyone in the store, except the man, was impressed with how the woman was handling the situation. Some snickering could be heard from a few. The man was not so impressed.

"You dare accuse _me_ of lying!?" he spat out.

Aurelia just gave a small shrug and sighed.

"Well, if you think you are right," she said, "prove it."

The man was confused.

"What?"

"Prove it," Aurelia said again, "Prove to us that this board is faulty, and we will give you three boards of your choosing for free."

The man pondered the deal for a moment.

"Well, I would prove it… but I'm not gonna risk my life over it!"

"Well, leave then," said Aurelia.

"Oh, I don't think so," said the man, "In fact, how about the wolf tests out the Extreme Gear for me instead?"

Star became very nervous.

"Wha-what!? I-I don't know how to ride an Extreme Gear!" she exclaimed, "I only know how to design and build them!"

The man stared at her, dumbfounded, for a moment before laughing.

"Oh, that's just _priceless_!" he laughed, "You can't even test out your own creations!?"

Star's ears lowered in shame.

"How can you even allow someone to sell gear that they themselves can't even test!?" he asked Aurelia.

At this point, Aurelia was no longer smiling and was glaring at the man with daggers.

"I'll test it!"

Everyone in the store turned and looked at Blaze. Silver was shocked to hear her say that.

"You!?" the man yelled, "The freak with the fire powers!?"

Silver leaned over to Blaze.

"Blaze, what are you doing!?" he whispered.

"I got this, Silver. Don't try and stop me," she whispered back.

Blaze walked over to Aurelia and the man.

"Of course you would be here," the man grumbled, "I bet that blue rat is also here as well."

" _Hedgehog_ ," Silver corrected him before muttering to himself, "Jackass."

"Whatever."

The man turned back to Blaze.

"So, _you'll_ take this hunk of junk from a stupid girl?" he asked sarcastically.

"No," Blaze replied, "I'm doing this for my own reasons."

"Pfft, whatever, it's your funeral!"

"If you are finished," Aurelia said with a bit of anger, "then I suggest you leave. _Now_."

"… Well, I wouldn't want to miss a show like this," said the man.

Blaze scoffed as she walked past the jerk and up to the counter. The board in question was a French violet color with two lines of blue bell color on the sides.

" _This board sure has a lot of similarities to me,"_ Blaze thought to herself as she picked it up.

"The Flame Lance."

Blaze shook her head and looked up at Star.

"Huh?"

"That's what I named it," Star explained, "The 'Flame Lance'."

Blaze looked down at the board.

"Flame Lance…." she said, "Hmm… I like it."

Star was a bit surprised before feeling a little proud. Blaze picked up the Extreme Gear and turned towards Silver.

"I think I'll use this in the Grand Prix, Silver," she told him.

The man was shocked.

"Are you serious!?" he asked.

Blaze gave him a deathly glare.

"Holy crap… you're actually serious, aren't you?" the man asked.

"More serious than your pathetic accusations," Blaze countered.

She turned back to Star.

"How much does this Gear cost?" she asked.

"Uh… are you sure this is the one you want?" Star asked nervously, "After what the man just-"

"I'm certain."

"… Okay. It costs 8,000 rings."

"Shouldn't be a problem."

"Of course not!" the man remarked, "A princess like yourself can buy _anything_! Must be shameful to buy such low-quality items. Sure shows in your dress."

Before Blaze could respond, Silver snapped.

"Oh, shut… UP!" he shouted as he used his psychokinesis to levitate the man off the ground.

"Huh? What!? What are you doing!?"

Silver didn't respond as he opened the door and carried the man outside.

"Where are we going!? Put me down this instant! Do you even _know_ who I am!?"

Silver remained silent as he levitated himself off the ground and glided over one of the canals.

"Are listening to me, freak!? I said put me down! NOW!"

Silver stopped moving and turned to face the man.

"You want down?" he asked, "Okay, wish granted."

As soon as his sentence was finished, Silver released the man and watched him fall…

"AAAAAAAA-"

 ***SPLASH***

… right into the canal below. Satisfied, Silver dashed back to the store to pick up where he and Blaze left off. As he entered, he noticed everyone was staring at him.

 **(Music fades)**

"What?" he asked.

The customers looked away and coughed.

"So naïve," Blaze sighed as she shook her head.

 **[ Soleanna Castle Town – Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Silver joined Blaze, Aurelia, and Star at the counter.

"Did I overdo it?" he asked.

"Not at all," Aurelia replied with a small, yet creepy smile.

 **Sonic: She** _ **does**_ **have a creepy smile.**

 **Me: Yeah, tell me about it.**

 **Silver: How does she do it?**

Silver turned to Blaze.

"You alright, Blaze?"

She looked away.

"I'm… fine, Silver. You didn't have to do that," she replied, "But, I appreciate it."

Silver blushed and looked away.

"Oh, uh, yeah, sure… no problem, Blaze."

Aurelia smirked as she analyzed the two Mobian's expressions and reactions.

"A-anyways, Blaze," Silver continued, "do you want to get your clothes here as well, since we're getting the board here already?"

Blaze nodded.

"That sounds like a wise decision," said Aurelia, "So, you must be Princess Blaze of the Sol Kingdom and Silver the Hedgehog, correct?"

The hedgehog and cat turned to Aurelia; Blaze a bit surprised since it's not commonly known that she's a princess _and_ from another dimension.

"Yes, that is correct," she replied, "But, please, just call me 'Blaze'."

"Interesting," Aurelia said cryptically, "Siris has made quite an interesting group of friends."

"You know Siris?" Silver asked.

Aurelia nodded.

"I do, indeed. But that's not important right now," she said as she turned to Blaze, "I think I have the perfect outfit for you. Would you please follow me?"

"Uh, sure."

Silver watched as Aurelia took Blaze to another section of the small store. The other customers had already gone back to their business. Silver just stood there, waiting for a couple of minutes.

"You like her, don't you?" Star asked, breaking the silence.

Silver whipped his head around.

"Huh?"

"Blaze," Star clarified, "You like her a lot, don't you?"

Silver tilted his head back and moaned.

"Why does everyone care so much about my feelings for her?"

Star raised a brow.

"So you _do_ like her."

Silver turned his still hanging head towards her.

"Yes," he said pathetically.

Star just smiled and shook her head.

" _Maybe I should tell her,"_ Silver thought to himself, _"It may have been a mistake kissing her… wait, what am I saying!?"_

"…"

"… _was it a mistake? I mean… she didn't say she HATED it…"_

"Silver?"

The hedgehog turned around; his eyes widened. Blaze was no longer wearing her usual lavender colored coat with the fuchsia rose hemline or her Pantone magenta high-heeled boots; instead, she was now wearing a Rebecca purple colored racer suit; which was slightly unzipped under her neck **(eyes up, perverts)** and had yellow strips on her elbows, knees, and chest; and a pair of deep cerise colored boots. She also replaced her gloves with a pair that looked exactly the same but had black cuffs around the wrists.

"How does this look?" Blaze asked shyly.

"You look amazing," Silver said absentmindedly, causing Blaze to blush.

Star glanced over to Aurelia, who mouthed 'clueless' to her; she rolled her eyes in agreement.

"Uh, th-thanks, Silver," Blaze said in embarrassment, "That… that means a lot to me."

Silver scratched the back of his head.

" _Crap, why did I say that!?"_ the clueless Mobians thought.

Star slapped her hand against her forehead.

"So, uh…" said Silver, "Should we purchase these things now or…?"

"Yes, I'll, uh… I'll pay for them now."

While Blaze walked over to the counter to pay for the gear, Aurelia handed Silver a bag with some items in it. Silver raised a brow.

"Her other clothes," she answered.

"Ah, gotcha."

Blaze walked back over to Silver.

"Ready to leave, Blaze?" he asked her.

"Yeah. I think I'm ready to get back to the others."

Silver nodded and turned to Aurelia and Star.

"Uh… thanks for the stuff. And sorry about-"

"Oh, don't worry about him," said Aurelia, "What's done is done. Besides… I was worried I might have had to do something about him myself."

"Well, I'm glad he's out of the way," said Blaze, "I'm shocked there are people like him in this world."

Aurelia gave them a hefty, solemn sigh.

"Just one is too many."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Well, thank you for the help," said Blaze.

Aurelia gave her a kind smile.

"Oh, think nothing of it, Blaze. And good luck in the Grand Prix, you two."

"Thanks," said Silver.

He turned to Blaze.

"Come on, let's get back to the others. The sooner we teach you the basics, the sooner you'll be ready."

Blaze nodded and they left the shop.

"Hmm."

Star turned to Aurelia.

"What's going through your mind?" she asked.

Aurelia chuckled.

"Oh, nothing. Just wondering how a close friend of mine got himself all these… _interesting_ new friends."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Siris' Home_

 **[ Resident Evil Remake Save Room (Safe Haven) 1 Hour ]** (Uploaded by OshiDood)

Siris was sitting at his desk in his home, working on his little side project while listening to some relaxing music **(Yes, this one)**. Sylvie had completed her housework already and was sitting on the ground beside Siris, watching him work. It was 11 AM; usually Siris would be in the clinic, but his 10:00 appointment never showed up, which, surprisingly, was a first for Siris, as he never had an appointment not show up on time without prior notification that they would be running late. After half an hour of waiting, Siris' patience was running thin, so he went inside and continued on his device.

" _I wonder if I should tell her,"_ Siris thought to himself, _"I'm not sure how she would react though…"_

"Master?"

Siris looked over to Sylvie and slid his goggles down.

"Something on your mind, Sylvie?"

"What's the EX World Grand Prix?"

Siris smiled.

"It's a racing tournament that involves Extreme Gears," he explained as he looked back to his device, "Extreme Gears are specially designed boards, skates, and bikes that hover in the air. Some people like to use them just for means of transportation. Others, like Sonic and the Babylon Rogues, use them to race and compete in Grand Prixes."

"… Is it dangerous?"

"It can be dangerous. People have gotten injured in the races over the years, but I have yet to hear of any casualties. Most contestants tend to be Mobians."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why only Mobians?"

"I said 'tend to be Mobians', sometimes there are humans as well. But to answer your question, I think its mostly in part due to Mobians having a more vigorous body than humans; theirs tend to be more fragile in comparison. But there have been a number of human finalists in the Grand Prixes over the years."

"Hm…"

…

…

"Why have the Grand Prixes?"

"There are multiple reasons: money, fame, powerful new Gear."

"Dominance," Sylvie added timidly.

"… I suppose so, in some way, yes."

…

"Do you have any Extreme Gear?"

"… I… do."

…

Siris glanced over at Sylvie.

"I haven't ridden it in years, and I have no intentions of doing so at the moment."

"… Okay."

Siris slid his goggles back on and went back to work on his device.

"Where did I put that thing?" he muttered to himself.

A couple of minutes passed by and Siris noticed Sylvie had a look in her eyes, as though she was thinking about something.

"Something else on your mind?" he asked.

"…"

"Sylvie, you can tell me anything."

"… I've never gone out like that before."

"Hm?"

Siris turned back to Sylvie.

"Like what?"

"Out to someone else's home. And stay the night."

" _Right… cause Charles just forgot to give you a LIFE."_

"Did you enjoy your time at Nephy's place?"

Sylvie closed her eyes.

"I was… happy, I think."

Siris reached over and patted her on the head.

"Glad to hear that."

He wasn't sure, but Siris could have sworn he saw a brief smile across Sylvie's lips before she had a sad expression on her face.

"Why did Master take me in?"

Siris stopped patting her head but didn't remove his hand. Sylvie opened her eyes and looked into his eyes as he slid his goggles back down.

"Honestly, Sylvie… I wasn't thinking."

"Eh?"

"I was… angry when I first saw. The dirty dress, the scars on your arms, legs, and face…"

Siris sighed.

"Even the emotionless expression on your face."

Sylvie glanced away.

"After hearing what Fang had said about Charles and referring to you as an object, I was disturbed by how you were treated. At first, I wasn't sure what I gonna do."

Sylvie's ears lowered.

"But then, I saw your eyes, and they were begging for help."

Sylvie looked back at Siris.

"It was at that moment I decided that I would take you in and give you all the love and care that you need."

Sylvie blushed.

" _Love?"_ she thought to herself.

"I… see," she replied, "I'm… grateful that Master took me in. But… the way I have been living here is also scary. Thank you for telling me."

"No worries, Sylvie."

Siris gave her a playful tap on the nose and went back to his device. He quickly glanced at his communicator.

" _It's almost noon. What's taking him so long?"_

"If my patient doesn't show up soon, I think I'll just go to the store and buy some stuff for dinner."

He turned to Sylvie.

"Anything in particular you want for dinner, Sylvie?"

"… I'll have whatever Master decides to make."

Siris smiled.

"I think I have an idea of what we can have."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Unknown Location_

 **[ Dark Ambient Hour Mix: Abandoned Genetic Research Facility ]** (Uploaded by Iron Cthulhu Apocalypse)

" _Still no sign of any researchers… damn it… got careless before."_

…

" _Hmm… strange… fresh oil."_

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

 ***Tap***

…

" _What's that sound?"_

…

" _Hm. It's gone now."_

"*Sigh*"

" _This is a waste of time. Time to change strategies. Maybe someone above ground has some answers."_

…

" _Better get going."_

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Lord's Base_

"Keep a close eye on them, Neo. We can never be too careful when it comes to _thieves_."

" _ **Understood, my lord."**_

"Keep me posted."

The Lord ended the transmission.

"Send Mephiles up to me, immediately," he ordered the computer.

"Affirmative."

Moments later, Mephiles appeared from the shadows.

"You called for me?"

"How's your training?"

"Useless waste of time. I am more than ready."

"I have no doubt that you are ready."

"Then _why_ am I still here?"

The Lord gave his ally a soft chuckle.

"Patience, Mephiles, patience. You will get your chance soon enough. As long as Shadow cannot find you, he will slowly succumb to obsession."

Mephiles glared at the Lord.

"If you truly think that… then you might be a fool after all," he muttered.

"Perhaps. But as long as you stay out of the picture, then your new abilities remain in the dark to all the heroes."

"… I see."

"Continue your training."

Mephiles nodded and disappeared into the shadows. The Lord's eyes shift to one of the screens in front of him.

"Hmm… Send Mecha Sonic up to me at once."

"Understood, my Lord," the computer replied.

"… How much progress has the research division done on the data recovery?"

" Total progress made: 3%."

" Uggghh… better than nothing."

The sound of doors opening caught the Lord's attention; Mecha Sonic stood under the dim light.

"Ah, Mecha. I'm sure you are well aware of how disappointed I am in you for failing to take control over Chun-nan."

The robot's eyes averted from the Lord's for a brief moment.

"However, while I am still very upset with you, I feel that I must confess to you that I was expecting this result."

Mecha Sonic glanced back at the Lord.

"You see, in order to know your enemies, you must know what they are capable of; whether it's strength, intelligence, speed, firepower, numbers, the list goes on."

…

"But, now that I know why Chun-nan was a failure, I have been able to come up with another plan for our next potential target."

The Lord leaned forward.

"Which is brings me to why I have asked you here."

Mecha Sonic slightly turn its head, indicating uncertainty.

"I believe my plans to be nearly flawless… but recent events have proven otherwise. But, perhaps, with an additional mind, such as yourself…"

Mecha Sonic asked a series of questions in robotic noises.

"If it weren't for their blind lust for power and sheer destruction, I would ask Mephiles or Metal- sorry, _Neo_ Metal Sonic for their input. Mephiles seeks total destruction of the universe; Neo wishes to finally defeat Sonic once and for all; but you? _You_ are an enigma."

Mecha replied back.

"You see, you've been with me the longest. You've seen everything that has transpired over the years. They haven't."

…

"Would you care to help with _your_ next attack?"

Mecha Sonic nodded and approached the Lord's thrown.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Blue Moon Village_

 **[ Gothic Music – Ravenville ]** (Uploaded by Derek and Brandon Flechter) (Loop)

Siris was leaving the grocery store with all the ingredients he needed for tonight's dinner. It was a little past noon and the skies were clear.

"Hmm… it's been a while since the skies have been this clear," he said to himself.

Siris covered his mouth with a fist and yawned.

"Man, even being gone for just a couple of days, I still got jetlagged."

"Wait, you actually left town for something?" a voice nearby remarked.

Siris turned around and was greeted by a pleasant sight.

"Well, well, well. Might and Ray," he smirked as his two friends approached him, "What brings you two back to Blue Moon Village?"

Mighty and Ray gave him a friendly smile.

"Did you hear about Chun-nan?" Mighty asked.

Siris shook his head.

"I haven't. Why don't you guys walk with me and tell me what's been going on."

The two nodded and joined Siris' walk back to his place.

"You hear about the World Grand Prix?" Ray asked.

"I did!" Siris exclaimed, "Kinda surprised with the sudden event out of nowhere. But that's for another time; let's talk about Chun-nan. What happened."

Mighty sighed.

"Well…"

 _10 minutes later…._

"And that's what happened," Ray concluded.

…

Siris took a deep breath as the three kept walking down the dirt road.

"So… let me get this straight; Chun-nan was attacked by Mecha Sonic and a bunch of SWAT-bots, Espio almost lost an eye, and now the Chaotix are taking a break from searching for the Emeralds and are heading back to Station Square to look for information, online and from contacts, for said Emeralds."

Mighty and Ray looked at each other for a moment.

"Yup," they said.

"And you guys are here… to continue from where we left off in terms of you guys visiting me."

"Yup."

Siris clicked his tongue.

"Okay. Sure. Let's roll with that, then."

…

"Um… _why?_ " he asked with curiosity.

Mighty and Ray became a little nervous.

"Uh… well-"

"Wait, hold on," Siris interrupted, "Let me open the front door and put the groceries away."

"Huh?"

Mighty and Ray looked over and noticed they were standing in front of Siris' home.

"Want to come inside?" Siris asked, "I still have a couple of minutes before my 1:30 appointment shows up."

Mighty bit his lower lip as Siris walked towards the door.

"Well… the thing is…" he began.

"How did she get those scars?" Ray blurted out.

Siris stopped dead in his tracks.

"What did you just say?" he asked over his shoulder.

Ray took a step back.

"I, uh… nothing, nothing."

Siris turned and stared at his friend. Then he stared at Mighty.

"Let me guess," said Siris, "Knuckles?"

The two hesitantly nodded. Siris sighed.

"Well, that answers my question," he muttered.

Mighty and Ray began to feel a little guilty for not calling Siris before.

"Look, Siris," said the armadillo, "we didn't mean to-:

Siris chuckled.

"Oh, relax, guys. I understand why you are acting like this. I completely forgot that Sylvie's blue dress covered her arms, so no one noticed those scars when you all met her."

The two Mobian's eyes widened.

"Wait, she has _more_!?" they shouted.

Siris facepalmed.

"Why do I do this to myself?" he muttered before letting out a really heavy sigh, "Look, why don't we talk about this later over dinner?"

Mighty and Ray were dumbfounded and just stared at Siris.

"What?" he asked.

The two just slowly shook their heads.

"Are you guys gonna say something or what?"

…

Mighty shook his head to refocus himself.

"So… you didn't hurt… uh..."

"Sylvie," Siris told him.

"Right, _Sylvie_. You swear you didn't hurt her?"

"On my parents' graves," Siris replied.

Mighty and Ray looked at one another before looking back at Siris.

"Alright… fine," said Mighty, "We will consider your invitation, Siris. But…"

Mighty sighed.

"You've been acting much more different than we have known you to be," Ray finished, "We're worried about you, that's all."

Siris raised a brow.

"And… maybe a bit suspicious of your… past?" Ray added nervously.

Mighty nodded in agreement.

"… And?" Siris asked.

The two Mobians were a bit surprised.

"Uh… and that's all," said Mighty, "Aren't you…?"

"Mad? No, not really. Like I said, I'll explain… as much as I can over dinner."

Mighty turned to Ray, who just shrugged.

"What time?" Mighty asked as he turned back to Siris.

"Dinner should be ready around 6:30."

"Alright…" said Ray, "We'll be back at the hotel for now."

Siris nodded.

"Okay. See you guys later," he replied before disappearing into his home.

The two friends just stood there, wondering.

"Hey… Mighty?"

"Yeah?"

"I know we talked about this before, but…"

"I hate to say it, but I'm starting to think you may have been right."

 ***WHAM***

The two jumped as Siris slammed open the door and glared at them.

"You two had better not be judging me!" he warned, "Last thing I want is for you guys to feel guilty _after_ I explain things."

With that, Siris closed the door. Mighty and Ray blinked a couple of times before they turned around and headed back towards the town.

"What was that all about?" Ray asked.

"Beats me," Mighty replied, "I'm actually surprised he didn't leave us without saying a word."

"Yeah… And he seemed… I dunno, calm?"

Mighty shrugged.

"Maybe he's finally getting around to tell us. Who knows?"

Ray scratched his cheek.

"Well, are we going?" he asked.

Mighty didn't respond for a brief moment.

"I think we should," he said, "I mean, it _was_ our original plan days ago, you know."

"True. I suppose we should take Siris' advise and start hating him _after_ he tells us what's been on his mind," Ray joked.

Mighty gave him a look before the two chuckled lightly.

"Wonder what he's making for dinner," Ray pondered, "Because when you think about it, we've never once had any of his cooking before."

Mighty slightly bobbed his head in agreement. As they continued walking, they noticed a familiar hedgehog approaching from the opposite direction.

"Ah, Mighty. Ray. What brings you two back here?" she asked.

"Hey, Nephy," Mighty said to the waitress, "We were just doing a little bit of catching up with Siris."

Ray nodded.

"Oh, is that so~?" Nephy asked, "And you two wouldn't happen to be asking questions about Sylvie, are you?"

Mighty and Ray had that "deer in the headlights" expression painted on their faces.

"I'll take your sudden shock and silence as a 'yes', then."

Mighty rubbed the back of his neck while Ray bit his lower lip.

"Relax, you two," said Nephy, "I'm sure Siris will tell you guys everything eventually."

Ray raised a brow.

"Did he tell _you_ everything?" he asked.

"Pfft, of course not," Nephy remarked, "He's still hurtin', ya know?"

Mighty and Ray were intrigued.

"About what?" they asked.

Nephy's smile dropped.

"Wait, he never told you about what happened about two years ago?"

They shook their heads.

"Oops," Nephy muttered, "Uh, look, don't pry about _that_ , okay? Siris doesn't like to ever talk about it, so… yeah, just be patient with him."

Mighty and Ray gave her a suspicious look.

" _Trust me_ ," she said firmly, "You don't want to push him away."

The two sighed and nodded.

"Alright, we won't," said Ray.

"We'll just wait for him to open up," said Mighty.

Nephy smiled.

"Thanks, guys," she said, "I have to get going; I didn't tell Siris earlier, but I made an appointment to see him and I should get going."

"Alright, see ya later, Nephy," said Mighty.

Ray waved goodbye and they went their separate ways.

"Mighty-"

"Not now, Ray," he interrupted, "Like I said, we'll wait for him to open up."

Ray sighed.

"Easier said than done, Mighty."

"… I know."

As Mighty, Ray, and Nephy continued their walks, no one noticed a strange red glow from the nearby shrubbery and a pair of eyes following Nephy.

"An excellent addition to my art collection…" said a dark voice.

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 _Soleanna Forest_

 **[ Deep Woods – Sonic and the Black Knight Music Extended ]** (Uploaded by BrawlBRSTMs3 X)

Evening night blanketed the lands. Two streaks, one red, the other pink, dashed through the dark forest on Extreme Gears.

"Come on, Knuckles!" Amy called out from behind, "I didn't know you sitting on your island for so long would make you so rusty!"

"Hmph," Knuckles muttered, "I wouldn't bet on that!"

Amy looked behind her and saw that Knuckles was catching up to her, and fast.

"Uh oh," she said softly.

She looked ahead and boosted forward.

" _Darn,"_ Amy thought to herself, _"My air tank is almost out. If I don't think fast, Knuckles will almost be guaranteed to win."_

She leaned to the left as she went around a wide the side of a very large tree. If she had the air to spare, she would have air slid around it.

"I hope Knuckles is running low on air as well," Amy said as she continued down the impromptu track she and Knuckles made.

 ***WHAM***

From the left side of the track, just a few meters away, Knuckles punched through a hollowed old tree and took the lead.

"Think again!" he called out.

"Hey!" Amy shouted, "That's cheating!"

Knuckles laughed.

"It's not cheating if it can be used as a shortcut in any other race!" he retorted.

Amy scoffed as she raced after the echidna. Meanwhile, about a mile away, Sonic, Silver, Rouge, and Blaze were waiting alongside a finish line that was drawn in the dirt. Rouge's ears twitched.

"I hear them coming," she said.

On cue, Knuckles appears from around a bend and dashed for the finish. Seconds later, Amy appeared, but not going as fast. As Knuckles passed over the finish, he leaned over, grabbed his Gear, and hopped off; skidding across the ground a short distance.

"Heh," he smirked as he turned to the others, "How fast was that?"

Sonic looked down at this communicator.

"About 4 minutes, 11 seconds," he replied.

Knuckles nodded and turned back at Amy, who passed over the finish line seconds later.

"Time?" she asked as she hopped off her Gear.

"4 minutes 25 seconds."

"Awww…" Amy pouted.

Sonic chuckled as he ran up to his girlfriend's side.

"Hey, cheer up, Amy," he told her, "You still did well."

Amy smiled but still shook her head.

"I keep using my air tanks too often," she remarked, "I would be a lot easier if we had some way to refill our tanks."

Knuckles walked over to them.

"Yeah, I'm with you," he said, "As much as these practice races we have against each other help, it's a whole different game in the Grand Prix."

Sonic nodded before turning to Silver and Blaze.

"How's the basic training going?" he asked.

Silver held his hands up and shook his head in disbelief.

"She's a natural," he chuckled.

Blaze glanced away.

"Stop it, Silver," she told him, "I'm sure it was just beginner's luck."

"Oh, please," Rouge smirked, "there's no such thing. If you're as good as Silver says you are, then you are definitely ready for the Grand Prix."

Blaze sighed.

"Blaze," said Amy, "there's no need to be so modest. You should be glad of how well you've done so far."

Blaze turned to Amy; they weren't being kind just to make Blaze feel better; their words rang true. Once she and Silver got back to where Sonic and the others had set up camp, she and Silver immediately got started on helping her learn the basics of riding Extreme Gear. After 15 minutes of falling off her board, Blaze finally managed to stay aboard without losing her balance. 10 minutes later, she was going circles around Silver as they rode through the forest at a leisurely pace.

She gave the pink hedgehog a smile.

"Thanks," said Blaze.

Everyone nodded and gave her their own ways of positive gestures.

 ***SHOOM***

Out of nowhere, a dark blur on an Extreme Gear blew between the group, almost crashing into to them.

"Hey!" Sonic yelled, "What where ya goin'!"

The rider glanced back at Sonic; glaring with red eyes before disappearing into the darkness of the forest.

"Huh!?" Sonic exclaimed with surprise.

Everyone else looked around with concern.

"Everyone okay?" Silver asked.

Everyone acknowledged Silver that they were fine, except for Sonic. Amy turned to him.

"Sonic?"

He turned to face her.

"I'm fine, Amy."

He looked back in the direction the rider disappeared to. Amy was intrigued.

"Sonic? Do you know who that was?"

Sonic walked forward a couple of steps before stopping. He kept staring into the forest.

"Not to sound paranoid… but I'm now starting to think Siris was right."

"Huh?" everyone responded.

The hedgehog turned around and faced his friends.

"This Grand Prix might be more than it all seems."

The gang gave each other a questioning glance.

"Why's that, Sonic?" Rouge asked.

Sonic sighed.

"I think… I think that rider was _Metal_."

 **(Music fades)**

" ***~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*"**

 **Me: Huzzah! Another chapter completed!**

 **Sonic: Took ya long enough. You could have finished this a week ago!**

 **Me: Yeah… but then things happened.**

 **Silver: Like what!?**

 **Me: Imagination overload.**

 **Sonic and Silver: *WTF looks***

 **Me: Well, 'nough of that. Hope you guys liked this chapter! See you next time!**

 ***Sincere A/N***

 **Like I said last chapter, I AM SWAMPED because of college. Now that I actually have started taking the classes… it's actually a LOT worse than I was hoping.**

 **So, here's the situation: I have basically only ONE day available each week to even possibly cram in time to write this fanfic. I don't like that. One day a week, for about two or three hours at most, if I'm lucky? Know what that means? Shit writing.**

 **What I'm gonna do: I'm not abandoning this story, but I'm definitely not gonna be able to write the next chapter as I had originally planned; I'll be able to write it in parts, which is fine, since it will mainly focus on the Grand Prix for about 95% of the chapter. Even still, it will take a lot of time for me to actually write it all out. So, to ensure that I don't lose my motivation to keep writing, I'm gonna do something completely insane and distracting.**

 **I'm going to write ANOTHER fanfic story.**

…

…

…

 **Yeah, I'm a complete dumbass. I, honestly, promised myself that I would NOT do that, EVER; never write two fanfics at once.**

 **But, here's the thing; it's NOT a Sonic fanfic. I won't spoil anything yet, but I will say this: it won't be a super long story, maybe 100k words max, and the chapters will be much shorter compared to this story.**

 **So, the new story: it's only in the early stages of what the main story will entail. I already have an overall idea of how it will play out, but I need time to do some research. You'll figure out what I mean in April. So, first week of April, I will post a Prologue/Sneak Peek of my new fanfic. However, that story will be updated less frequently than SA:D &R. Sonic Adventure will still be my main focus, but I've been reading some other fanfics lately and my brain has been going nuts with ideas. If people don't like the new story, that's fine, I'll save it for AFTER this one. If people do, I'll update it once in a while.**

 **Now, why am I writing another fanfic that's not Sonic related? Because FFN is evil, but in a good way. I had a new FFN craving and I was quite impressed with the stories written that I wanted to write one myself.**

 **If, IF, by some Satanic reason I choose to put this story on Hiatus, it will only be TEMPORARY. If that happens, I will occasionally go back and edit the chapters so far in this story and update the story description with the last revision date.**

 **But, there's some REALLY good news out of this. Since I have less time actually writing the story, I can spend a lot of time between classes structuring out the story in my notes. As of now, I have the next chapter completely set up and ready for writing, I have about 6 scenes for future chapters already written (I'm talking late into the story), and about 5 chapters worth of possible story material I'll be using. So don't you worry, I've got plenty of ideas already on standby.**

 **So, apologies for this update, I'm sure many of you (and by that, I mean the 5 people following *rolls eyes*) are slightly disappointed. I will try my best to write as much as possible. And don't tell me to write shorter chapters, not gonna happen for this story.**

 ***Update 2/17/19* - Rememer when I said I was swamped because of college? I had overestimated how much time I would have for anything. I HAVE NO TIME AT ALL FOR ANYTHING. However, I WILL upload only one chapter for my new fanfic in April, but don't expect anything for this story until then. Unfortunately, it will only be a teaser chapter of what will happen. Look, I'm on the very verge of slitting my wrists over this semester, don't judge me. Be glad I'll do something for spring break. So, for now, this game is on semi-hiatus, but I'm still writing ideas for both this and my new fanfic. Based on how much I managed to write last semester, I would assume that by the end of summer, I'll be either done or 75% done with this story. It's not gonna be abandoned, no way. Sorry for this lack luster "update".**

 **Well, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter; again, many apologies; I just hope you guys can be patient for future chapters and thank you for understanding. I hope that I will find a lot of time to write more!**

 **Please leave a Review, Follow, and Favorite! And... I'll see you guys later!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	9. Teaser 1

**Sorry for the long wait, folks. School is still keeping me busy. Don't expect the next chapter until June. Please don't kill me. Hope this teaser will pique your minds and that you can wait just a little longer. The following events are not in chronological order.**

 **THIS IS NOT CHAPTER 9. THIS IS SIMPLY A TEASER. I WILL BE REMOVING THIS TEASER AND REPLACE IT WITH CHAPTER 9 WHEN IT IS READY.**

 **Note: you don't have to listen to the song below while reading since it's just a short teaser.**

 **(Personal choice for this teaser, timestamps used with this one) [Dragonball Super Movie – Trailer Theme (HQ Recreation)]** (Uploaded by PokéMix92)

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **SA: Downfall and Redemption TEASER #1 (Post Chapter 8)**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"You won't say anything?" Siris asked.

"I'll keep quiet for now," Shadow replied.

"Alright… here's what happened…"

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 ***Slow beeps of a heartbeat monitor***

"He's losing too much blood! Keep applying pressure!"

…

"I need a hand over here! Damn it… WHERE'S THAT DAMN PLANE!?"

"I… I don't…"

"Blaze! I need you to focus!"

The feline princess looked up, tears rolling down her cheeks. Rage burned in her eyes.

"Who are you!?"

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Outside Siris' House_

 **(Start music) (0:00)**

"Siris?" Sylvie asked nervously as Siris prepared to leave with Sonic on their adventure.

He turned to her.

"You won't… forget about me… will you?"

Siris gave Sylvie a soft hug.

"Wouldn't even dream of it, Sylvie," he said into her ear and pulled away.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **A NEW THREAT**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Cavern, Deep Underground_

SWAT-bots and Egg Pawns close in around Sonic, Siris, Amy, Mighty, and Ray. The gang was getting tired from fighting for so long.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **THE WORLD AT STAKE**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Outside Siris' House_

"I promise to call you everyday, alright?"

Sylvie gave him a small smile and nodded.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Unknown Facility_

A dark silhouette watched from the shadows, looking at all the researchers working hard on… something.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Cavern_

The SWAT-bots and Egg Pawns closed in around the group. Digger hovered beside Siris.

"Any ideas, guys?" Amy asked nervously.

Sonic, Siris, and Digger glanced at each other and smirked. Siris turned to Digger.

"Oh, I've got one."

Digger flew into Siris' body.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **A NEW ALLY**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **(0:34)**

" **DRILL!"**

The hedgehog's quills began to glow a deep yellow as he held his arms out in front of him and a giant yellow drill formed around them. He launched himself into the fray.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **THIS SUMMER**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

Sonic boosted through the robots a grabbed the wire Siris shot toward him. He then spin-dashed through the air, swing Siris around and allowing him to kick the Elite in the head at tremendous speed and force.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **THE STORY**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Outside of Facility, Icy Region_

Silver and Blaze were back to back, fighting off familiar looking robots and a pair of Cerberuses.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **OF SONIC AND SIRIS**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Unknown Facility_

Team Dark is making their way through the enemy facility, destroying everything in their path.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **RETURNS**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Be safe, Siris…"

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Mazuri Village_

Tails and Knuckles flew through the air and smashed into the Egg Pawns.

"Give me a boost!"

Knuckles turned around, grabbed James' hand and tossed him up a couple of floors, at another squad of robots.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Cavern_

"You fight like a pro," Sonic commented as he homing attacked another two robots.

"Oh, really?" asked Siris as his slid under a SWAT-bot, wrapped his wire around it's legs and ripped them off, "You haven't seen anything yet, hedgehog!"

 **(1:07)**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **BUT NOT All IS AS IT SEEMS…**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **(1:10)**

 _Unknown Base_

Morpheus rose to his feet as his subordinates entered the room with their new prisoner.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 _Soleanna, Wave Ocean_

Metal Sonic boosted beside Blaze and took a swing at her. He missed, but she began to lose her balance on her board.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

A heavily beaten Mobian falls to the ground, blood slowly forming an expanding puddle.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"Hello, Siris."

"YOU!" Siris shouted.

"Surprised I'm still alive."

Sirs' eyes burned red.

"Not for long," he growled as he broke free from Sonic's grip and charged.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **A DARK PAST…**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"I can't believe he lied to us… all those things he did…" Sonic said with heavy breaths.

"I knew there was something wrong about him from the start!" Knuckles groaned.

"We must help Sylvie!" exclaimed Silver.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **HIDDEN SECRETS…**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"What makes this orb so important that you must keep it safe at all times!?" the giant mechanical robot demanded to know.

Siris glared at the beast, spitting some blood out of his mouth.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **AND DANGEROUS POWER**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **(1:20)**

Siris beat the robot to every inch of its being, ripping away at the armor with his drills. Sonic tired to get Siris' attention, but he couldn't risk getting injured himself or worse. Siris finally stopped and slammed the robot, face-first into the ground.

"This is for _her_ ," he hissed as he kneed the robot in the back wrapped his arms around the robot's neck.

"SPIKES!"

"No, Siris, DON'T-!" Sonic shouted.

The sound of metal being ripped apart filled the air.

 **(1:28)**

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

"What have you don't?"

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **(1:30)**

Sonic and Siris attacked each other as though their lives depended on it.

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **SONIC ADVENTURE: DOWNFALL AND REDEMPTION**

 **THE ADVENTURE CONTINUES SUMMER 2019**

 ***Heartbeat monitor gets shorter and shorter before flatlining***

" **~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~"**

 **Well, there's your little teaser of what's to come. Sorry that it's not much, but, you know, life. I kept some locations in the teaser anonymous (or not added) for suspense. Anyways, I hope you guys will be patient and can wait for Chapter 9 this summer. Don't worry, it will be released early July at the latest. In other news, I've uploaded the first "chapter" of my new fanfic. Go check it out, I'm curious to see what people think.**

 **Until next time!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	10. IMPORTANT NOTICE

**IMPORTANT NOTICE:**

 **First, I'd like to thank everyone who's read this story and the few who have left a review.**

 **Recently, I accidentally damaged my flash drive that had some of my documents, including ideas for future chapters and what was the backbone of the overall story. I could always redo that, but then I came across another issue that I could no longer ignore.**

 **After rereading the story I've written so far, I've realized that I've made some mistakes that I could not rectify in later chapters. Basically, I didn't pay close enough attention to the subplots I was writing, which would have resulted in many plot holes and inconsistencies.**

 **Because of this, I've decided to rewrite the story from Chapter 2 and onward.**

 **Here's what the problem is: when I first started writing the story, I only focused on the first chapter with a basic idea and premise of where I wanted the story to go. Since Chapter 2, I've had plans for the unseen and unrevealed characters that have been lurking in the shadows, spying on our heroes. Unfortunately, I ended up disregarding some of these events as I continued planning my story. This far into the story, which is barely even the surface, I feel that I can AND WILL revise the story, yet keeping to what I had originally planned. Chapter 1 will have minor revisions, but only for grammar and just minor rewriting. Writing long chapters of lengths between 20k to 30k words is just too much for me to keep track of in one chapter. To make life easier for me, and you guys (hopefully), I've decided to make the chapters shorter, around 10k to 20k words. To make up for this inconvenience and unfortunate news, I promise to have at least ONE action scene every two chapters MINIMUM.**

 **I cannot give a definitive date as to when the story will return because I've decided to NOT begin any rewriting until I've completely had the backbone, subplots, and loose ends completely dealt with and laid out. Sounds much better doesn't it? WHICH IS WHAT I FUCKING SHOULD HAVE DONE TO BEGIN WITH!**

 **That said, I'm sorry for this, but I refuse to continue writing a story that will continue to add more problems for me in the future. I want this story to actually have a Sonic Adventure style feel to it, but also have character development, which is the one think that's been lacking in Sonic games for a while. For that to happen, I must put this story through a rewrite.**

 **Again, I apologize, but I will have this story returning in due time.**

 **Until next time!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


	11. Reboot Notice (Final Update)

**Hey, guys,**

 **This will be the final time I will be updating this story. This story is being shelved for good, but I have uploaded the prequel to this story's reboot, titled "Mending Hearts". It is a Sonic Adventure 3 prequel and will provide backstory to new characters prior to their formal introduction to SA3, which won't be released until after the prequel has been completed.**

 **I'm sorry if you guys wanted this story to continue, but unfortunately, I bit off more than I could chew. This fanfic was my first attempt at writing fanfiction and I have learned a lot from writing it. I hope you guys continue to follow me and give my reboot a chance.**

 **Until next time!**

 **~ThePhantomHedgehog**


End file.
